The wide-awake hand surgery (WAHS) technique involves injecting lidocaine with adrenaline for hand surgical procedures that are done without the use of tourniquets, sedation, regional or general anaesthetic. This is a retrospective review of the first 100 consecutive patients who underwent operations using this technique at our centre. The operations included carpal and cubital tunnel decompression, trapeziectomy, tendon transfer, and tenolysis. A questionnaire adapted from Lalonde's previous work on wide-awake surgery was used to assess patients' experiences. Sixty-five percent of the patients responded to the postal questionnaire, the majority reporting a high satisfaction level. Ninety-one percent of responders reported that the operation was less painful or comparable with a procedure at the dentist; 86% would prefer to be wide-awake if they needed to have hand surgery again, and 90% stated they would recommend WAHS to a friend.

Biodegradable magnesium-based implants are innovative alternatives that potentially eliminate the need for implant removal. Recent studies have demonstrated the osteogenic properties and bacterial inhibition potentials of magnesium screws. We reported a clinical series of three elbow fracture cases, where magnesium screws were used in the treatment of one radial head and two capitellum fractures. Postoperative clinical courses were uneventful, and fracture healing occurred within 3 months. In all cases, radiolucencies were observed around implants especially in the screw head region at 2 months post-operation, but disappeared with consolidation at 1 year post-operation. All patients achieved near normal range of motion, minimal symptoms and good functional outcomes. No complication such as failure of fixation, loss of reduction, malunion or infection was seen. No implant revision or removal was necessary. Magnesium bioabsorbable screws are shown to be a viable option for these fractures.

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