In this insightful and personal biographical article, Professor Bertelli recounts his journey from surgical problem to surgical solution with incredible detail. This was an invited article as part of the 2025 FESSH/JHSE Special Issue on ‘Technology and Innovation’. He shares some of this thought process behind novel nerve transfer or examination techniques, built on solid anatomical foundations and careful patient observations. Professor Bertelli attributes his achievements to the influence of mentors, the importance of cadaveric dissections and long years of clinical experience.
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BertelliJA.Nerve versus tendon transfer for radial nerve paralysis reconstruction. J Hand Surg Am. 2020a,
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BertelliJA.Prior to repair functional deficits in above- and below-elbow ulnar nerve injury. J Hand Surg Am. 2020b,
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BertelliJA.Subterminal key pinch dynamometry: a new method to quantify strength deficit in ulnar nerve paralysis. J Hand Surg Eur. 2020c,
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BertelliJA.Reconstructing pinch strength after ulnar nerve injury by transferring the opponens pollicis motor branch. Plast Reconstr Surg. 2024,
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BertelliJAGhizoniMF.Pain after avulsion injuries and complete palsy of the brachial plexus: the possible role of nonavulsed roots in pain generation. Neurosurgery. 2008,
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BertelliJAGhizoniMF.Abduction in internal rotation: a test for the diagnosis of axillary nerve palsy. J Hand Surg Am. 2011a,
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BertelliJAGhizoniMF.Very distal sensory nerve transfers in high median nerve lesions. J Hand Surg Am. 2011b,
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BertelliJAGhizoniMF.The C5 root dermatome enlarges and modulates hand pain in total brachial plexus palsy. Microsurgery. 2014,
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BertelliJAGhizoniMF.Results of spinal accessory to suprascapular nerve transfer in 110 patients with complete palsy of the brachial plexus. J Neurosurg Spine. 2016,
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13.
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BertelliJAMiraJC.The grasping test: a simple behavioral method for objective quantitative assessment of peripheral nerve regeneration in the rat. J Neurosci Methods. 1995,
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16.
BertelliJAdos SantosARCalixtoJB.Is axonal sprouting able to traverse the conjunctival layers of the peripheral nerve? A behavioral, motor, and sensory study of end-to-side nerve anastomosis. J Reconstr Microsurg. 1996,
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BertelliJASoldadoFRodrígues-BaezaAGhizoniMF.Transfer of the motor branch of the abductor digiti quinti for thenar muscle reinnervation in high median nerve injuries. J Hand Surg Am. 2018,
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18.
BertelliJASoldadoFRodrígues-BaezaAGhizoniMF.Transferring the motor branch of the opponens pollicis to the terminal division of the deep branch of the ulnar nerve for pinch reconstruction. J Hand Surg Am. 2019,
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19.
BertelliJANeheteSWinkelmann DuarteECGhizoniMF.Transfer of the distal anterior interosseous nerve for thumb motion reconstruction in radial nerve paralysis. J Hand Surg Am. 2020,
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20.
BertelliJARosaICNGhizoniMF.Retrograde peripheral nerve regeneration from sensory to motor pathways in rats: A new experimental concept in nerve repair. Neurol Res. 2024,
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