Cecilia Mellstrand Navarro

I am an orthopaedic and hand surgeon trained at Karolinska Institutet, where I received my medical degree and defended my PhD in 2014. I completed my specialist training at Södersjukhuset. Since 2021, I am Associate Professor (Docent) at Karolinska Institutet.

My research is closely integrated with my clinical work and focuses on injuries and disabiity of the upper extremity. I am co-founder of the Danderyd Wrist and Hand Initiative (D-WHIN), where I am building and leading a research environment focused on clinically relevant questions in hand and orthopaedic trauma. Within this framework, I have also developed a research line on the environmental impact of healthcare, analysing the carbon footprint and life-cycle effects of orthopaedic care in relation to clinical outcomes and resource use. I lead and initiate multiprofessional and multicentre collaborations, bringing together clinicians, hand therapists, statisticians, health economists, and LCA experts. I supervise several doctoral students and am actively engaged in teaching at all levels—from local clinical education to international scientific meetings. Mentorship and knowledge dissemination are central parts of my academic work.

I have contributed to national healthcare development as a medical expert for Swedish Agency for Health Technology Assessment and Assessment of Social Services and as chair of a national, multiprofessional expert group developing treatment recommendations for distal radius fractures. I also serve as a reviewer for Svenska Läkaresällskapet.

My overarching goal is to generate clinically relevant, high-quality evidence that can be translated into guidelines and practice, contributing to effective, patient-centred, and sustainable orthopaedic care.

My research is rooted in a strong clinical commitment to improving care for patients. Clinical challenges and unmet patient needs are a continuous source of research questions, with a focus on long-term function, quality of life, and safe, effective treatment strategies. I lead a broad and methodologically diverse research programme that integrates randomized controlled trials, registry-based studies, qualitative research, analysis of the environmental impact of health care and health economic evaluations. Topics include:

• Upper limb trauma, including fractures of the distal radius and ulna, proximal humerus, and metacarpals,
• National trends in fracture incidence and treatment selection
• Patient-reported outcomes and patients’ lived experiences following nerve injuries, fracture treatment, and rehabilitation
• Surgical treatment strategies: corrective osteotomies, joint arthrodesis, and prosthetic reconstruction in the hand
• Neuroplasticity and the effects of physical activity on cortical reorganization following severe pain conditions after upper limb nerve injuries
• Neurophysiological mechanisms of recovery after digital nerve injuries and major nerve trunk injuries of the arm
• Anesthesia techniques in upper limb fracture surgery
• Medical education research, including the use of digital tools as adjuncts in teaching medical students
• Learning styles and individual factors influencing medical specialty choice
• Health economics, including cost-effectiveness of treatments
• Environmental sustainability in healthcare, including carbon footprint assessment and life cycle analysis