Guidelines & Resources

The Society's guidelines are undergoing a major revision and will be published when finished.   Below are links to some guidelines published by the BSSH.

• WALANT (Wide Awake Local Anaesthesia with No Tourniquet) resources - COMING SOON PENDING FINAL AUTHORISATION
• Hand Trauma App - managing hand injuries
• Best Practice and Consent
• The BEST Guidelines on Trigger Digits
• The BEST Guidelines for UCL of Thumb Injuries
• The BEST Guidelines for Management of Thumb Base Osteoarthritis
• BSSH Standards of Care in Hand Trauma
• CRPS Guidelines
• Coronavirus information
• Equity, Diversity and Inclusiveness
• Management of Distal Radial Fractures
• Guidelines for VTE prophylaxis in Hand Surgery
• Plastic Surgery, Hand Surgery and Burn Care 

A summary of our guidelines for the management of thumb base osteoarthritis and injuries to the ulna collateral ligament of the thumb, has been published in the Journal of Hand Surgery (EU Vol.).  These can be found here:

• Gangopadhyay S, Jansen V, Sim Khor W, Gardiner MD, Burchette D, McKenna H. Guideline on managing thumb base osteoarthritis: The British Society for Surgery of the Hand Evidence for Surgical Treatment (BEST) findings and recommendations. J Hand Surg Eur Vol. 2025 Jan 24:17531934241313206. Click here to read  
• Dean B, Rodrigues J, Riley N, Rabey N, Donnison E, Challen K, Bradford S; BSSH BEST UCL Guideline Developmnent Group. Guideline on managing thumb ulnar collateral ligament injuries: the British Society of Surgery for the Hand Evidence for Surgical Treatment (BEST) findings and recommendations. J Hand Surg Eur Vol. 2024 Nov;49(10):1195-1201. Click here to read

Thanks to a great deal of hard work from the Raising Standards team, the BSSH has now published a number of guidelines in 2022, in partnership with GIRFT (Getting It Right First Time).  These can be downloaded directly using the links below, and can also be found on the GIRFT website:

• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Pathway
• Traumatic amputation of digits, hand & wrist
• Bite wounds
• Guidelines for Operating Outside of Main Theatres
• Management of Scaphoid Fractures (based on BSSH Trauma Standards)
• Dupuytrens disease, Hand surgery, December 2023

We are also pleased to direct members and visitors to useful guidelines published by other societies.  Visit the BOA website for more information, or download a local copy here)