Dr. Sam Fuller

Sam Fuller, MD, is a Board-Certified Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon with additional Subspecialty Certification in Surgery of the Hand (SOTH). He attended college at the University of Notre Dame and graduated Cum Laude with a double major in Spanish Languages and Literature and Pre-Professional Studies. He continued his education at the Pritzker School of Medicine at the University of Chicago. He then completed a Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Residency at the University of Chicago Medical Center. He went on to complete an Orthopaedic Upper Extremity Fellowship at The Curtis National Hand Center in Baltimore, Maryland.

Dr. Fuller won numerous awards throughout his training, including the 2016 Michael S. Murphy Research Award for his research, "Design and Use of a Novel Coupling Device for Tendon Repair and Reconstruction." Dr. Fuller and his co-authors also won Best Hand Paper in 2014 from the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Journal for, "Fat Transfer to the Upper and Lower Extremity in Patients with Raynaud's Phenomenon- A Novel Therapeutic Modality."

Dr. Fuller specializes in hand, wrist, and forearm surgery. His diverse training allows him to bring a very unique “hybrid” approach to the upper extremity. He is able to combine his plastic surgery knowledge of microvascular and soft tissue reconstruction with his orthopaedic training to properly diagnose and treat bony and ligamentous injuries. This is particularly significant in the hand and wrist, which requires anatomic expertise to address skin, tendon, nerve, vascular, and bony problems as a functioning unit. Dr. Fuller enjoys meeting his patients and establishing goals together in order to reach a satisfying and successful outcome through non-operative and operative treatment options. This may include injections, therapy, surgery, and the latest advancements in the field, such as Wide Awake Local Anesthesia No Tourniquet (WALANT), endoscopy, arthroscopy, and collagenase injections.

As a Plastic Surgeon, Dr. Fuller also treats a variety of general plastic surgery conditions, including skin cancer (resection and reconstruction), soft tissue reconstruction following sarcoma resection and radiation, Botox for facial wrinkles, facial fillers for volume loss, post-bariatric weight loss and body lifts including liposuction, tummy tucks, arm lifts, belt lipectomies, and complex wound care that may require skin grafts and flaps.

Dr. Fuller participates in medical mission trips, leads regional cadaver dissection courses, and routinely gives lectures and presentations on his broad and rewarding practice.

MISC

Dr. Fuller attended University of Notre Dame with double major in Spanish Languages and Literature and Pre-Professional Studies

As a native of Chicago, Dr. Fuller enjoys living in the Michiana area. His family spends their free time cheering for Notre Dame and Chicago sports teams, cooking, traveling, and enjoying Midwest life with family and friends.

Research Interests

• Tendon Repair and Reconstruction
• Carpal Tunnel Surgery Outcomes

Peer-Reviewed Publications

Meals C, Osterman M. The Hand Surgery Fellowship Application Process: Expectations, Logistics, and Costs. J Hand Surg Am. 2015 Feb 24. (Acknowledgement).

Fuller SM, Butz D, Vevang C, Makhlouf VM. Application of 3D Printing in Hand Surgery: Innovations in Technology. Abstract, Huggins Research Symposium, March 12, 2014.

Fuller SM, Butz D, Vevang C, Makhlouf VM. Application of 3-Dimensional Printing in Hand Surgery for Production of a Novel Bone Reduction Clamp. J Hand Surg Am. 2014 Sep;39(9):1840-5.

Bank J, Fuller SM, Henry G, Zachary LS. Fat Transfer to the Upper and Lower Extremity in Patients with Raynaud’s Phenomenon- A Novel Therapeutic Modality. Plast Reconstr Surg. 2014 May; 133(5):1109-18.

Fuller SM, Bindra RR. Response to "Image-Guided Distal Radius Osteotomy Using Patient-Specific Instrument Guides." J Hand Surg Am. 2014 Jan;39(1):174.

Fuller S, Kleiber G. Soft Tissue Coverage of the Hand and Upper Extremity. In Janis JE, ed. Essentials of Plastic Surgery. 2nded. Missouri: Quality Medical Pub; 2014.

Butz DR, Fuller S, Crosby MA. Genitourinary Reconstruction. In Janis JE, ed. Essentials of Plastic Surgery. 2nded. Missouri: Quality Medical Pub; 2014.

Fuller SM, Bindra RR. Ulnar Head Implant Arthroplasty. In Weisel SW, ed. Operative Techniques in Orthopaedic Surgery. Volume 4. Pennsylvania: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2015 (Expected year of publication).

Fuller SM, Roughton MC, Gottlieb LJ. The Inner Prepuce Flap for Penile Scald Burns. J Burn Care Res. 2014 Jul-Aug;35(4):e250-7.

Fuller SM, Foley RT, Siu B, Glick DB. Utilizing Recorded Commands for a Bilingual Patient During Emergence From Anesthesia. Anesthesia & Analgesia. Feb 2007, Vol 104, 2S

Consulting Physician

• University of Notre Dame

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Special Procedures

• Soft tissue reconstruction including skin grafts, flaps, and tissue rearrangement
• Nerve decompression and Repair
• Fractures of the hand, wrist, forearm, and elbow
• Tendon Repair and Reconstruction
• Nerve repair and decompression
• Plastic Surgery
• Abdominal Wall Reconstruction
• Abdominoplasty
• Aesthetic Surgery
• Amputation Of Finger
• Amputation Of Thumb
• Arm Lift
• Arthrodesis Of Wrist
• Arthroplasty Wrist
• Arthroscopy Of Wrist
• Basal Joint Arthritis Surgery
• Benign Tumor Removal Of The Hand
• Body Contouring
• Body Lift
• Breast Reduction
• Burn Reconstruction
• Bursectomy Of Hand
• Cancerous Tumor Removal Of The Hand
• Carpal Sequestrectomy
• Carpal Tunnel Surgery
• Cmc Thumb Arthroplasty
• Correction Of Syndactyly and Polydactyly
• Cubital Tunnel Surgery
• Cyst Removal
• Dermal Fillers
• Digital Nerve Repair
• Endoscopic Carpal Tunnel Release
• Excisional Biopsy
• Extensor Tendon Repair
• Fasciotomy Of Hand
• Fat Grafting
• Finger Injection
• Fingertip Repair
• Flap Surgery
• Flexor Tendon Repair
• Ganglion Cyst Removal
• Gynecomastia Surgery
• Hand Fracture Surgery
• Hand Steroid Injection
• Hand Tendon Repair
• Hand Tendon Transfer
• Independent Medical Examination (IME)
• Joint Surgery Of Hand
• Joint Surgery Of The Wrist
• Latissimus Flap
• Lip Augmentation
• Lipectomy
• Liposuction
• Male Breast Reduction
• Metacarpal Sequestrectomy
• Metacarpophalangeal Fusion
• Mini Abdominoplasty
• Minimally Invasive Surgery Of The Hand
• Minimally Invasive Surgery Of The Wrist
• Musculocutaneous Flap
• Nail Bed Surgery
• Nerve Reconstruction
• Oncologic Reconstruction
• Percutaneous Pinning
• Peripheral Nerve Surgery
• Radial Forearm Flap
• Reconstruction Of Ear
• Reconstruction Of Nose
• Reconstruction Of Thumb
• Reconstructive Plastic Surgery
• Reconstructive Surgery Of The Hand
• Rectus Flap Reconstruction
• Rejuvenation
• Release Scar Contracture
• Repair Mallet Finger
• Repair Trigger Finger
• Repair Trigger Thumb
• Scar Revision
• Skin Cancer Reconstruction
• Skin Cancer Surgery
• Skin Graft
• Skin Rejuvenation
• Skin Tag Removal
• Surgery For De Quervain's Tenosynovitis
• Surgery For Hidradenitis Suppurativa
• Synovectomy Of Wrist
• Tendon Pulley Reconstruction
• Tendon Repair Surgery
• Tenolysis
• Tenoplasty Of Hand
• Thigh Lift Surgery
• Ulnar Nerve Decompression
• Ulnar Nerve Surgery
• Vacuum Assisted Closure Therapy
• Vacuum Assisted Wound Closure
• Vertical Rectus Abdominis Muscle Flap
• Worker's Compensation
• Wound Care
• Wrist Fracture Surgery
• Wrist Fusion
• Wrist Reconstruction
• Wrist Surgery

Board Certification

• Diplomate of American Board of Plastic Surgery

Fellowship

• Hand, Upper Extremity, and Microvascular Surgery
• The Curtis National Hand Center, Baltimore, MD

Residency

• University of Chicago Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery

Medical School

• University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine

Undergraduate

• University of Notre Dame, South Bend, IN

Medical Society Memberships

• American Society for Surgery of the Hand, Active Member (ASSH)
• ASSH Young Members Steering Committee Member
• ASSH International Relations Committee Member
• Notre Dame Orthopaedic Society

Miscellaneous

• Serves on the Board of Directors for Aging Connections of Michiana