OBJECTIVE In order to inquire the methods of thumb reconstruction by transferring the index finger with incomplete conditions of nerve or blood vessels. METHODS From April 1987 to October 1997, 6 cases were treated by 3 kinds of operative methods according to the damage type of thumb and complications injures of the rest of hand: 1. transferring the index finger with pedicle without proximal phalanx, 2. transferring the index finger with palmar nerve and blood vessels, and dorsal skin pedicle, 3. transferring the index finger with compound pedicle. RESULTS All 6 cases of thumb reconstruction were successful. Followed up 6 months to 2 years, the pinching and gribing functions in 6 cases were completely recovered, and the sensation were partly recovered. CONCLUSION The operative method of thumb reconstruction had following advantages: Simple operation, high survival rate and certain function recovery. It can enlarge the indications of thumb reconstruction.
Objective To introduce the free multiple flaps of lowerextremity based on the anterior tibital vascular pedicle for primary repair of the complex burned hand deformities.Methods From September 2000 to February 2003, the lateral leg flap, dosalis pedis flap and trimmed first toe based on the anterior tibial vascular pedicle were utilized to reconstruct the thumb and repair the first web, thenar, wrist or palmar scar contracture simultaneously in 6 patients. The flap size of lateral leg and dosalis pedis ranged from 4 cm×10 cm to 7 cm×10 cm and from 5 cm×10 cm to 9 cm×12 cm, respectively.Resutls Six cases were treated and followed up for 6 weeks to 1 year. The transplanted flaps survived with satisfactory recovery in function and appearance of theburned hand. The function of donor lower extremity was not damaged. Conclusion The procedure of the free multiple flaps of lower extremity based on the anterior tibial vascular pedicle is reliable and effective for primaryrepair of burned hand.
It is difficult to repair the pulp defect of finger with good function. Here reported two cases of pulp defect of the thumb which were repaired with free palmris brevis musculo-cutaneous flap. The flap was designed as the following: taken the line crossing the pisiform and metacarpo-phalangeal joint of the little finger as the longitudinal axis of the flap. The proximal end of the flap was at the level of pisiform and the distal end was the distal transverse palmar crease. The radial border was the radial side of the palmris brevis and ulnar border was the ulnar edge of the palm. The flap should not be larger than 6.5 cm x 2.5 cm. The flap was dissected with proper ulnar vessels and the accompanying arterial branch and superficial branch of the ulnar nerve. The flap was transferred to repair the pulp defect of the thumb. The vessels were anastomosed with the radial artery and cephalic vein at the snuffbox. The nerves were sutured to the digital nerve. Three months after operation, the defect was healed and the sensation of pulp was recovered. The donor area was painless and without sensation disturbance. The motion of the little finger was normal. The function of the thumb was restored. It was concluded that the palmaris brevis musculocutaneous flap is one of the best donor region to repair pulp defect of thumb.
Fiftyone thumbs with complete or partial loss of the distal segment in 50 patients has been reconstructed with transplantation of great or second toe by microsurgical technique from 1985 to 1993. All cases were survived and regained favourable functions. Ninteen cases had been followup after operation, with an average of 51 months. In the group Ⅱ° of thumb loss, the overall functional impairment inproved from 11% to 1.7%, and in the remaining cases, from 5% to 0%. Sensation examination found S+3 in 42%, S4 in 37% and the two point discrimination between 4mm to 10mm. The merits of reconstruction of the distal thumb segment was stated and emphasized. The choice of operative procedures, the advantagesof emergency reconstruction, the selection emphasized of anastomosis site of blood vessels and the complications and sequelae of the donor foot were discussed in detaill.
ObjectiveTo investigate the diagnosis and treatment of thumb polydactyly with symphalangism in children.MethodsSeven cases of thumb polydactyly with symphalangism were treated between January 2013 and May 2017. There were 5 males and 2 females, aged from 10 months to 11 years, with an average age of 3.1 years. The thumb-polydactyly was diagnosed with MRI and it was seen that the base of radial multi-finger and the proximal phalangeal joint were connected by cartilage. All patients were treated with resection, lateral collateral ligament reconstruction, bone osteotomy and internal fixation.ResultsThe operation was successfully completed, and there was no early complications such as infection and flap necrosis. All patients were followed up 6-23 months (mean, 14.1 months). At last follow-up, there was no deformity finger, scar contracture, and other complications. The extension of the interphalangeal joint was no limited, and the flexion range of the interphalangeal joint was 20-75° (mean, 56.7°). The appearance and function of the thumb was rated as excellent in 3 cases and good in 4 cases by Japanese Society for Surgery of the Hand (JSSH) scoring, with the excellent and good rate of 100%.ConclusionThe thumb polydactyly with symphalangism in children can be combined with clinical manifestations, X-ray film, and MRI examination to diagnose, and can obtain satisfactory results through the reconstruction of lateral collateral ligament, bone osteotomy, and internal fixation.
ObjectiveTo investigate the effectiveness of free second toe dorsal flap combined with middle or ring finger island flap for repairing degloved thumbs.
MethodsBetween August 2009 and June 2013, 6 patients with degloving injury of the thumb were treated using free second toe dorsal flap combined with middle or ring finger island flap. There were 4 males and 2 females, aged 19-44 years (mean, 32 years). The left thumb was involved in 2 cases and the right thumb in 4 cases, including 5 cases of type II and 1 case of type III degloving injury. The size of wound was 5.5 cm×2.5 cm to 6.5 cm×5.0 cm. After emergency debridemented, 5 patients underwent vacuum sealing drainage and surgical repair after 3-5 days; 1 patient underwent abdominal embedding and repair after 14 days. The size of second toe dorsal flap ranged from 2.5 cm×2.2 cm to 4.2 cm×3.0 cm, and the size of middle or ring finger island flap ranged from 2.0 cm×1.5 cm to 3.5 cm×2.8 cm. Neurorrhaphy was performed between the plantar digital nerve of the second toe and the proper digital nerve at the recipient site in 5 cases, and no nerve anastomose in 1 case. All the distal phalanxes were partially excised. The donor sites were covered with free skin grafts.
ResultsAll of the flaps survived completely and incision healed by first intention. Three patients had alloesthesia of the middle or ring finger island flaps. All of the 6 patients were followed up from 6 months to 3 years (mean, 23 months). The flaps had good color and soft texture, and the finger had satisfactory appearance, but the fingernails were smaller than that of normal side. The sensation of the dorsum of the second toe reached S3, and the mean two-point discrimination of the pulp was 6 mm (range, 4-7 mm). According to total active movement (TAM) system, the function of the thumbs was excellent in 5 cases and good in 1 case.
ConclusionA combination of free second toe dorsal flap and middle or ring finger island flap is a useful and reliable technique for reconstruction of a degloved thumb.
ObjectiveTo investigate the effectiveness of Ilizarov technique in reconstruction of thumb function in patients with thumb degloving injury after amputation.MethodsBetween June 2011 and September 2016, 9 cases of thumb degloving injury were treated with amputation and Ilizarov technology. There were 8 males and 1 female with an age of 18-52 years (mean, 34.7 years). The amputation plane was the level of the metacarpophalangeal joint in 5 cases, the level of the proximal metacarpophalangeal joint in 2 cases, and the level of the base of the proximal phalanx in 2 cases (the length of proximal phalanx was less than 1 cm). After amputation, the affected finger was shorter than the healthy finger by 4.0-7.5 cm, with an average of 5.7 cm. On the fifth day after operation, the semi-loop external fixation extender was applied for extension, which was extended by 0.5 mm per day, and was extended once every 6 hours.ResultsAfter bone lengthening surgery, the first web space elevation and contracture occurred in 8 cases. Six of them were treated with the amputation of the inner muscle of the thumb and the "Z" forming technique, postoperative thumb function recovered well; the remaining 2 cases rejected plasty. All 9 patients were followed up 14-47 months, with an average of 33 months. Bone lengthening time was 64-122 days, with an average of 86 days. The lengthening length of bone was 3.0-5.9 cm, with an average of 4.1 cm, and the average lengthening length was 71.9% of the average shortened length. The fixation time of external fixator was 169-342 days, with an average of 231 days. The healing index was 43.2-59.1 days/cm, with an average of 53.4 days/cm. One case showed prolonged mineralization delay and recovered after "accordion" treatment. Bone healing was finally achieved in all patients, with the healing time ranging from 169 to 342 days, with an average of 231 days. No replantation internal fixation and flexion contracture occurred. The two-point discrimination of extended fingertip was similar to that of normal fingertip. The grip strength reached 53%-89% of the healthy side; the kneading force reached 59%-91% of the healthy side.ConclusionThe application of Ilizarov technology to extend the thumb metacarpal lengthening is a good method to reconstruction the thumb function after degloving injury.
Objective To evaluate the function of the reconstructed thumbs and the donor feet after thumb reconstructions with modified wrap-around flap. Methods A total of 65 patients who accepted thumb reconstruction with the modified wrap-around flap between January 2003 and October 2007 were followed up, including 54 males and 11 females with an average age of 33 years (range 15-46 years). There were 12 cases of skin degloving injury and late class I B defect, 44 cases of class II defect and 9 cases of class III A defect. The reconstructed thumbs and donor feet were examined andevaluated. Foot function index-verbal rating scales (FFI-5pt), American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) forhallux metatarsophalangeal-interphalangeal score, gait analysis and dynamic pedobarography were conducted to 20 patients who were followed up recently. Results Sixty-five patients were followed up 6-60 months with an average of 22 months. The reconstructed thumbs had aesthetic appearance and satisfactory range of motion. The two-point discrimination was (9.7 ± 2.8) mm, showing statistically significant difference (P lt; 0.05) when compared with that of the contralateral normal thumb [(4.2 ± 1.1) mm]. Full or most length of the donor toes were preserved in 63 patients. The width of remaining plantar strip skin that covered the plantar weight-bearing area was (24.5 ± 3.7) mm, and its two-point discrimination was (9.0 ± 2.6) mm; showing no statistically significant difference (P gt; 0.05) when compared with that of contralateral normal one [(8.1 ± 1.9) mm]. Of the 20 patients who were followed up recently, the evaluation of the FFI-5pt score showed that the pain scale score was 5.6 ± 4.5, the disabil ity scale score was 1.2 ± 2.7, and the FFI-5pt total scale score was 3.2 ± 2.9. The results of AOFAS cl inical rating scale showed that the pain scale score was 34.0 ± 5.0, the function scale score was 38.7 ± 4.2, the al igment scale score was 15.0 ± 0, and the total AOFAS scale score was 87.7 ± 7.4. There was no statistically significant difference (P gt; 0.05) in the durations of subphases of the gait cycle between the donor foot and the contralateral normal foot, and in the peak force and force-time integral of the two whole foot. The peak force of the donor toe was significantly smaller than that of the contralateral normal toe (P lt; 0.05), but there was no significant difference in the peak pressure (P gt; 0.05); and there were no significant differences in the peak forcesand peak pressures of other six anatomical sites of the two feet (P gt; 0.05). Conclusion Using the modified wrap-around flap for thumb reconstruction, aesthetic and functional thumbs can be obtained, and most of the function of the donor feet can be preserved.
ObjectiveTo investigate the operative method of repairing soft tissue defect of the thumb with modified radial dorsal fasciocutaneous flap and its effectiveness.MethodsBetween June 2015 and December 2016, 15 patients with volar or dorsal defects of the thumb were treated with modified radial dorsal fasciocutaneous flaps which distal pedicles were cut off. Of 15 cases, 11 were male and 4 were female, aged 35-70 years (mean, 46 years). The causes of injury included crush injury in 12 cases and avulsion injury in 3 cases. Because all patients had volar or dorsal defects of the thumb which were accompanied by tendon or bone exposure, they had no condition or desire to replant. There were 12 cases of volar defect of thumb and 3 cases of dorsal defect. The area of defects ranged from 2.0 cm×1.2 cm to 3.0 cm×2.5 cm. The time between injury and operation was 16 hours to 2 days (mean, 30.4 hours). The radial dorsal fascio-cutaneous flaps of 2.3 cm×1.5 cm to 3.3 cm×2.8 cm in size were adopted to repair defects. The donor sites were directly sutured.ResultsAll flaps survived, and no severe swelling or tension blister occurred. The donor sites and wounds healed by first intention. All patients were followed up 3-12 months (mean, 6 months). The color and texture of the grafted flaps were similar to those of normal skin, with no bloated appearance. According to total active motion standard at last follow-up, the finger function was excellent in 8 cases and good in 7 cases.ConclusionModified radial dorsal fasciocutaneous flap of the thumb is a reliable flap with easy dissection and less trauma in repair of soft tissue defects of the thumbs, and satisfactory clinical outcome can be obtained.
Objective To introduce the surgical procedure and indication of the dorsoulnar arterial retrograde flap of the thumb in repair of soft tissue defect. Methods From March 2000 to March 2001, 12 cases of soft tissue defect with exposed bone at the distal thumb were involved. Ten flaps were pedicled distally at the proximal rotation point, 25 cm proximal to the cuticule. Two flaps were pedicled distally at the distal rotation point, 1.0 cm proximal to the cuticule. The flaps harvested in this study were 1.1 cm×1.3 cm to 1.8 cm×2.5 cm.Results All the flaps survived. After an follow-up of 2 to 14 months postoperatively, the appearance of the thumbs were satisfactory, except those of 2 thumbs repaired by the flaps transferred at the distal rotation point, which were bulkiness because of theuncovered pedicle. In 6 cases, the defect of finger pulp was repaired, and the 2point discrimination was measured 810 mm. The same range of motion of the thumb IP joint were observed in both sides in all cases.Conclusion The optimal indication of the procedure is soft tissue defect at the distal thumb.
