Course Introduction

The Esser Asia 2025 course is a 4 day course composed of one day of Finger flaps followed by a 3 days Advance Nerve Course. The Advance Nerve Course will focus on detailed explanations of advanced nerve procedures, tips and tricks on surgical dissection and panel QA discussion sessions. Each cadaver will be shared by only 2 participants. The Finger Flap Course can be taken separately or combined with the Advanced Nerve Course. The course will be held in the Advanced Surgical Skills Centre which offers excellent laboratory and teaching facilities.

(Note that the Advanced Nerve Course is most suitable for surgeons with a minimum of 3 years experience. It is not suitable for medical students or medical graduates)

The program

Day 1
Day 2 - 4

17 April 2025 (Day 1, Local Flaps)

07:30	Registration
08:30	Opening	Dr. Shalimar Abdullah
08:15	Vascular anatomy of hand and fingers	Dr. Georgiy Nazaryan
08:45	Soft tissue coverage of fingertip: V-Y flap, eponychial flap, thenar flap, Venkataswami/Evans flap	Dr. Timofey Sukhinin
09:30	COFFEE BREAK
09:45	Faculty demonstration / QA	Dr. Georgiy Nazaryan
10:15	Skillslab: V-Y flap, eponychial flap, thenar flap, Venkataswami/Evans flap
11:30	Soft tissue coverage of fingertip: cross-finger flap, reverse homodigital flap, pivot flap	Dr. Georgiy Nazaryan
12:00	Soft tissue coverage of dorsal side of the finger: Quaba flap, adipofascial flap, Hatchet flap	Dr. Georgiy Nazaryan
12:30	Faculty demonstration / QA	Dr. Georgiy Nazaryan
13:00	LUNCH BREAK
14:00	Skillslab: cross-finger flap, reverse homodigital flap, pivot flap, Quaba flap, adipofascial flap, Hatchet flap
15:15	Soft tissue coverage of the thumb: Moberg flap, FDMA flap, Littler’s flap	Dr. Georgiy Nazaryan
15:45	Soft tissue coverage of the thumb: Hueston flap, Moschella flap, Brunelli flap	Dr. Georgiy Nazaryan
16:00	Faculty demonstration / QA	Dr. Georgiy Nazaryan
16:30	Skillslab: Moberg flap, FDMA flap, Littler flap, Hueston flap, Moschella flap, Brunelli flap
17:30	Panel Discussion

18 April 2025 (Day 2)

08:00-17:00

Session 1 – Compression Neuropathies	Median, Ulnar, Radial Nerve Compression Neuropathies. EMG/NCV/Ultrasound in Compression Syndromes. Revision Compression Neuropathies Median & Ulnar Nerve.
Cadaveric Dissection 1	Guyon’s canal decompression CTS decompression & discussion of adjunctive procedures for scar management: Hypothenar fat pad & nerve wraps Cubital tunnel release and Transposition & medial epicondylectomy (ME) Supercharging End To Side (SETS) nerve transfer: Donor terminal AIN / recipient motor component of the ulnar nerve
Session 2 – Nerve Injuries	Tips and Tricks on Common Nerve Repair EMC/NCV/US in Acute Nerve Injuries Autograft, Allograft and Conduits: Managing the Nerve Gap. Neurorrhaphy optimization: 5 x “T”s (Timing, Trimming, Technique, Topography, Tension)
Cadaveric Dissection 2	Second common digital nerve repair using epineural sutures. Median nerve transection at wrist and repair, Epineural repairs with loading evaluation with wrist extension. Excise Median nerve repair site Harvest MABCN / LABCN in the arm and cabled autograft reconstruction

19 April 2025 (Day 3)

08:00-17:00

Session 3 – Neuropathic Pain	Diagnosis of neuropathic pain and Patient Assessment Surgical Neuroma Treatment When not to Operate on a Neuropathic Pain Patient Tips and tricks of Intra-operative Electrical Stimulation Pain management strategies for digital neuromas and superficial radial nerve
Cadaveric Dissection 3	Digital neuroma: Centro-central coaptation Targeted Muscle Reinnervation middle finger (2nd webspace nerve) to the lumbrical innervation
Session 4 – Nerve Transfers in Trauma	Nerve Transfers in Median Ulnar and Radial Nerve Lesions (sensory and motor) Radial tunnel syndrome and role of decompression distal to a recovering continuity nerve lesion Role of median to radial nerve transfers Nerve transfer versus tendon transfer for high radial palsy
Cadaveric Dissection 4	Sensory nerve transfer for median nerve injury: Fourth web to first web transfer in proximal palm. Motor reconstruction of pinch for ulnar nerve injury: Opponens branch to First Dorsal Interosseous nerve transfer Dorsal approach (BR and ECRL interval) for PIN decompression. Identify SRN, ECRB branch, PIN and supinator branches. Supinator to Posterior Interosseus Nerve (SPIN) transfer Proximal median nerve decompression and identification of branches to PT, FCR, PL, FDS and AIN. Median to radial transfer (FDS to ECRB and FCR/PL to PIN)

20 April 2025 (Day 4)

08:00-16:00

Session 5 – Brachial Plexus

Trauma mechanisms and injury patterns
Clinical Examination of the Brachial Plexus
Surgical Approaches to the Brachial Plexus
Principles of Brachial Plexus Reconstruction
Reconstruction of the Upper, Lower and Pan-plexal BPI.
Oberlin and Somsak variations.

Cadaveric Dissection 5

Oberlin transfer (FCU fascicle ulnar nerve) to motor branch of biceps; median fascicle (FCR) to motor branch to brachialis.
Medial triceps branch to anterior division axillary nerve transfer through a posterior approach.
ECRB to AIN nerve transfer.
Brachialis nerve transfer for finger flexion (BrAIN)

Session 6 – Spasticity

Spasticity: Clinical Examination and Decision-Making Including Botox, Hyperselective Neurectomy and CC7 for Spasticity

THE EXPERTS

The Esser Masterclass instructors and faculty are dedicated and certified hand surgeons. This means that the Esser Masterclass is focused on providing a tailored made and hands on international education by experts in the field across the globe. This Esser Masterclass is endorsed by the Malaysian Society For Surgery of the Hand

All Esser Masterclass Courses will be accredited by the EACCME® for official European CME credits. The amount of CME credits will be depicted on the main page of every course when the accreditation is finalised.

★★★★★

World leaders in the field giving highly informative lecture. Great cadaver sessions and high quality manual. 9/10

★★★★★

Great lectures and discussion sessions with a large diverse international faculty. Cadavers were very good quality for dissection 9.5/10

Meet the faculty

Dr. Timofey Sukhinin MD, PhD

Hand surgeon/Microsurgeon

Dr. Georgiy Nazaryan, MD, PhD

European Diploma in Hand Surgery, Head of Hand Microsurgery Center