The Buncke Clinic

THE BUNCKE MICROSURGERY FOUNDATION
The results of tragic accidents which at one time would have meant disfigurement, pain and a life of being unable to tie one’s shoelaces, climb a ladder or walk down a street without unwanted glances, have been dramatically altered.

Today, through the work of researchers at the Buncke Microsurgery Foundation these life-altering set-backs are being reversed. The recipients of the Foundation’s research and training efforts span many cultures and social circumstances: a thirty-eight-year-old machinist who lost his right hand as the result of an industrial injury; an army officer who lost his hand while attempting to disarm an explosive device; a thirty-two-year-old woman whose entire scalp and forehead were pulled off when her ponytail became entangled in industrial equipment; a forty-one-year-old man who lost four fingers as the result of a snow-blower accident; a pilot with four-finger loss, and a surgeon whose hand was crushed during an earthquake. Such patients are among hundreds of accident victims who knew little if anything about Microsurgery or Dr. Harry J. Buncke until their lives were altered by catastrophic events. All received microsurgical care and were able to continue their lives much as before.

The need for research was apparent to Dr. Buncke in 1962, when he formed the non-profit foundation formerly known as the Microsurgery Transplantation Replantation Research Foundation, now called the Buncke Microsurgery Foundation. Over the past thirty-four years, the Foundation has led the way in the field of Microsurgery by acquiring necessary capital to fund research and training aimed at developing techniques for tissue transplantation. Two early milestones in the history of Microsurgery were the successful replantation of amputated digits and transplantation of the great toe to the hand for thumb reconstruction.

Dr. Harry Buncke pioneered these advances, developed the techniques and created the instruments to make such replantations possible. He and his wife performed the first great toe-to-thumb transplant in the rhesus monkey in 1964. These early achievements revolutionized the management of hand trauma throughout the world. The research continued by the Buncke Microsurgery Foundation has transformed Microsurgery from a medical curiosity to an accepted and sought-after technology. The Foundation has trained over 100 Clinical Fellows, 39 Research Fellows and 51 Surgical Residents. Dr. Buncke and his colleagues have published over 350 clinical and research articles. He has earned recognition as the Father of Microsurgery.

The Foundation has the personnel, motivation and vision to continue to advance Microsurgery research and training into the 21st century. In the past, the Foundation has received grants from government sources, such as the Office of Naval Research, as well as from the Crosby Foundation, the Randolph Hearst Foundation, the Mellon Foundation, and many private citizens. The Buncke Microsurgery Foundation is a 501c3 tax-exempt research organization registered with the Federal and State governments. Its financial consultant, will be happy to discuss contribution options with you or your financial advisor concerning Federal and State income tax exemptions. Additional information regarding our research and training goals and activities can be obtained at any time by contacting the Foundation office.