New Clinic Helps Runners Prevent Injury
A new runners' clinic, called RunSafe, offers counseling and biomechanical assessment, to help prevent injuries and promote safe training methods.

Spine Center Tackles Most Complex Spine Surgeries
A UCSF team removed a large cancerous tumor in a single piece from the cervical spine of a patient in 12 hours, a procedure believed to be the first of its kind in complexity.

Message from the Chair

The new Orthopaedic Institute at Mission Bay will open in August 2009, bringing together specialty teams in one central, state-of-the-art, readily accessible location — to better meet your needs and those of your patients.

Restoring Form and Function to Upper Extremities

The complex case of an East Bay musician with traumatic injuries clearly illustrates the many factors necessary for successful reconstructive surgery of the upper extremities. A key to obtaining the best outcomes is having a full surgical team available with all of the necessary expertise, specialization and experience.

Changing Children's Grasp on Their Lives

Significant functional challenges for children may result from conditions such as hypoplastic thumb, syndactyly, polydactyly of the thumb, missing digits and amniotic bands — as well as from cerebral palsy, spinal cord injury, brachial plexus injury and trauma. In many cases, these functional challenges may be surgically addressed in ways that improve a child's quality of life.

Case Study: A Child Finds the Power in Raising Her Arm

Photos show a child's dramatic gains in the two years since her surgery to address the consequences of traumatic brachial plexus birth palsy. The child arrived at UCSF at age 5, unable to raise her arm in a fully functional way due to a lack of normal muscle. Lisa Lattanza, M.D. led a surgical team that transferred an unaffected muscle from the child's back and moved it to her shoulder, so it could do the job of the damaged muscles and tendons.

Amirtharajah Brings Wide Range of Expertise

Whether it's a traumatic injury or osteoarthritis, Mohana Amirtharajah, M.D., the latest addition to the UCSF Medical Center team for hands and upper extremities, has the training and experience to match the best surgical procedure to the patient. At UCSF, her options for addressing complex cases as part of a surgical team are greater still.

CME Courses

Information on upcoming continuing medical education courses is available online. Read more

Grand Rounds

Information on Grand Rounds Visiting Professors is available online. Read more

Referral Liaison Service

The Referral Liaison Service provides assistance and information to referring physicians, medical groups and health plans. For help regarding UCSF Medical Center and UCSF Children's Hospital, please call the liaison service or visit www.ucsfhealth.org/healthprofessionals.

Transfer Center

The UCSF Transfer Center is open 24 hours daily to coordinate the transfer of your patients to UCSF Medical Center from hospitals throughout the region.

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To contact UCSF Medical Center, visit www.ucsfhealth.org/contact