Development and historical evolution half a century ago at the dawn of microsurgery

Hua Tang, C.
Clinics in Plastic Surgery, 2017-04-01, Volúmen 44, Número 2, Páginas xix-xxv

The Department of Orthopedics and Replantation Research Laboratory of the Sixth People’s Hospital of Shanghai was at the forefront of technical innovation and development of limb and digital replantation and early microsurgery in the mid-1960s, half a century ago. This was a period when the entirety of China was isolated from the rest of the world, with revolutionary movements spreading over the entire country. Almost unbelievably, the early development of microsurgery took place during this period, unknown to the rest of the world. As a member of the earliest research team in the replantation laboratory and a member of the surgical team in the department, the author recollects some little-known facts dating back half a century that led to now-familiar techniques in microsurgery.