OBJECTIVE: To explore the method and effectiveness of index finger proximal dorsal island flap supplied by the nutrient vessels of superficial branch of radial nerve for treatment of thumb skin and soft tissue defect. METHODS: Between August 2019 and December 2024, 12 patients with thumb skin and soft tissue defects caused by trauma accompanied by variation of the first dorsal metacarpal artery were treated. There were 8 males and 4 females, aged 19-55 years, with an average age of 32 years. The wound area ranged from 2.2 cm×2.0 cm to 5.5 cm×3.5 cm. The time from injury to operation ranged from 1.5 to 6.0 hours, with an average of 4.5 hours. After thorough debridement, the wound was repaired with a index finger proximal dorsal island flap supplied by the nutrient vessels of the superficial branch of the radial nerve. The flap area ranged from 2.4 cm×2.2 cm to 6.0 cm×4.0 cm. The donor site was repaired with free skin grafting. Regular follow-up was conducted postoperatively to observe the appearance, texture, sensory recovery of the flap, and the condition of the donor site. RESULTS: The operation time ranged from 30 to 72 minutes, with an average of 47 minutes; intraoperative blood loss ranged from 30 to 70 mL, with an average of 46 mL. After operation, partial necrosis occurred at the skin edge of the radial incision on the dorsum of the hand in 1 case, which healed after dressing changes; all other flaps survived uneventfully, with primary wound healing. The skin grafts at the donor sites all survived. All 12 patients were followed up 5-36 months, with an average of 14 months. The appearance and texture of the flaps were good. At last follow-up, the two-point discrimination of the flaps ranged from 4 to 9 mm, with an average of 5.2 mm. According to the functional evaluation criteria for upper limb issued by the Hand Surgery Society of Chinese Medical Association, the results were excellent in 11 cases and good in 1 case. No scar contracture, pain, or joint movement limitation was observed at the donor sites. CONCLUSION For patients with skin and soft tissue defects of the thumb accompanied by variation of the first dorsal metacarpal artery, the index finger proximal dorsal island flap supplied by the nutrient vessels of the superficial branch of the radial nerve can be selected. This method has advantages such as shorter operation time, less intraoperative bleeding, and good postoperative appearance and sensation of the flap.
Humans ; Male ; Adult ; Female ; Thumb/surgery* ; Soft Tissue Injuries/surgery* ; Radial Nerve/surgery* ; Middle Aged ; Surgical Flaps/innervation* ; Plastic Surgery Procedures/methods* ; Skin Transplantation/methods* ; Young Adult ; Treatment Outcome ; Fingers/surgery* ; Skin/injuries*

Objective: To explore the clinical effects of proximal ulnar artery perforator flap combined with iliac bone graft in the reconstruction of subtotal thumb or finger defects. Methods: A retrospective observational study was conducted. From August 2016 to August 2019, 7 patients with thumb or finger defects caused by mechanical damage who met the inclusion criteria were admitted to Ruihua Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, including 6 males and 1 female, aged 46 to 58 years. Their length of fingers was repaired with iliac bone, with length of 2.0 to 3.0 cm. After the bone graft, the skin defect area of the affected finger ranged from 2.8 cm×2.2 cm to 6.0 cm×3.2 cm. Then the free proximal ulnar artery perforator flap with area of 3.0 cm×2.4 cm to 6.5 cm×3.5 cm was used to cover the wounds. The wounds in donor sites of iliac crest and flap were directly sutured. The survival of flap in one week post surgery and the donor site wound healing in 2 weeks post surgery were observed, respectively. During the follow-up, the appearance and sensory function of the affected finger, bone healing, and scar hypertrophy of wound in the donor site were observed and evaluated. At the last follow-up, the functional recovery of the affected finger was evaluated with trial standard for the evaluation of functions of the upper limbs of the Hand Surgery Society of Chinese Medical Association. Results: In one week post surgery, all the flaps survived. In 2 weeks post surgery, the iliac bone and the wounds in forearm donor site healed. During the follow-up of 5 to 13 months, the flap was good in appearance, without obvious pigmentation; the sensory recovery reached level S₂ in 5 patients and S₀ in 2 patients; all the grafted iliac bones were bony union without obvious resorption; the wounds in donor site healed well, with only mild scar formation. At the last follow-up, the shape of the reconstructed finger was close to the healthy finger, and the functional evaluation results were excellent in 3 cases and good in 4 cases. Conclusions: The use of proximal ulnar artery perforator flap combined with iliac bone graft to reconstruct subtotal thumb or finger can partially restore part of the appearance and function, with less damage to the donor site. It is a good choice for patients who have low expectations of appearance and function for the reconstructed finger.
Male ; Humans ; Female ; Soft Tissue Injuries/surgery* ; Perforator Flap/transplantation* ; Skin Transplantation/methods* ; Thumb/surgery* ; Plastic Surgery Procedures ; Ulnar Artery/surgery* ; Cicatrix/surgery* ; Ilium/surgery* ; Treatment Outcome

BackgroundHand injuries are very common in sports, such as skiing and ball sports. One of the major reasons causing hand and finger deformity is due to ligament and tendon injury. The aim of this study was to investigate if the high-resolution 3T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can demonstrate the complex anatomy of the fingers and thumb, especially the tendons and ligaments, and provide the accurate diagnosis of clinically important fingers and thumbs deformity due to ligamentous and tendinous injuries during sport activities.

MethodsSixteen fresh un-embalmed cadaveric hands were harvested from eight cadavers. A total of 20 healthy volunteers' hands and 44 patients with fingers or thumb deformity due to sports-related injuries were included in this study. All subjects had MR examination with T1-weighted images and proton density-weighted imaging with fat suppression (PD FS) in axial, coronal, and sagittal plane, respectively. Subsequently, all 16 cadaveric hands were sliced into 2-mm thick slab with a band saw (six in coronal plane, six in sagittal plane, and four in axial plane). The correlation of anatomic sections and the MRI characteristics of tendons of fingers and the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) at the metacarpal phalangeal joint (MCPJ) of thumb between 20 healthy volunteers and 44 patients (confirmed by surgery) were analyzed.

ResultsThe normal ligaments and tendons in 16 cadaveric hands and 20 volunteers' hands showed uniform low-signal intensity on all the sequences of the MRI. Among 44 patients with tendinous and ligamentous injuries in the fingers or thumb, 12 cases with UCL injury at MCPJ of the thumb (Stener lesion = 8 and non-Stener lesion = 4), 6 cases with the central slip injury, 12 cases with terminal tendon injury, and 14 cases with flexor digitorum profundus injury. The ligaments and tendons disruption manifested as increased signal intensity and poor definition, discontinuity, and heterogeneous signal intensity of the involved ligaments and tendons.

ConclusionsSports injury-related fingers and thumb deformity are relatively common. MRI is an accurate method for evaluation of the anatomy and pathologic conditions of the fingers and thumb. It is a useful tool for accurate diagnosis of the sports-related ligaments and tendons injuries in hand.

Adult ; Athletic Injuries ; diagnosis ; surgery ; Female ; Hand Deformities ; diagnosis ; surgery ; Humans ; Ligaments ; diagnostic imaging ; surgery ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Metacarpophalangeal Joint ; diagnostic imaging ; surgery ; Middle Aged ; Soft Tissue Injuries ; diagnostic imaging ; surgery ; Tendon Injuries ; diagnostic imaging ; surgery ; Thumb ; abnormalities ; surgery

OBJECTIVES: To study the injury manners of Bennett fracture and Rolando fracture and explore its identification principle of the first metacarpal base fractures. METHODS: Totally 31 cases of Bennett fracture and Rolando fracture were collected. The injury manners of cases of 19 Bennett fractures and 12 Rolando fracture were classified, and various injury manners were analysed statistically. RESULTS: The injury manners of the cases of 19 Bennett fracture and 12 Rolando fracture were divided into three types, including the first metacarpus hit hard objects during a punching, the first metacarpus hit hard objects when making fists and fell, or the first metacarpus was punched by hard objects when making fists. CONCLUSIONS The injury mechanism of Bennett fracture and Rolando fracture is formed by a force on the first metacarpus when making fists, which transmits to the basilar part along the vertical axis of metacarpus. The inference of injury manners should be focused on the confirmation of entrusted matters.
Epiphyses ; Fracture Fixation, Internal/methods* ; Fractures, Bone/surgery* ; Humans ; Joint Dislocations/surgery* ; Metacarpus/injuries* ; Thumb/injuries*

Double fracture-dislocations of the thumb are rare. Only a single case report of a simultaneous extra- articular fracture of the base of the first metacarpal and dislocation of the metacarpophalangeal joint has been previously reported. We report the second case report of this injury in a 20-year-old man. The patient had an excellent outcome after treatment.
Adult ; Fractures, Bone ; surgery ; Humans ; Joint Dislocations ; surgery ; Male ; Metacarpal Bones ; injuries ; Metacarpophalangeal Joint ; injuries ; Thumb ; injuries

This case report describes the use of a Functional Thenar Eminence myocutaneous flap for reconstruction of volar defect of distal right thumb of a 25-year-old male who sustained a twisting injury while working. Part of bone and tendon were exposed and the tip of the distal phalanx was crushed, with bony defect.
Adult ; Humans ; Male ; Myocutaneous Flap ; Thumb ; injuries ; surgery

OBJECTIVETo explore the relative factors on the failure in digit replantation in order to take preventions to control the risk factors.

METHODSFrom January 2013 to December 2013, 236 consecutive patients (311 fingers) underwent digit replantation were collected to analyze retrospectively, involving 183 males and 53 females with an average age of 34.5 years old ranging from 2 to 62 years old (6 cases under 6 years old and 230 cases elder than 6 years old). There were 51 thumbs, 87 index fingers, 78 middle fingers, 63 ring fings and 32 little thumbs. Forty cases(forty fings) who were failured as the observation group, the others as the control group. The factors of age, gender, finger, cause of injury, smoking history, ischemia duration, plane of division, condition of venous drainage and condition of arterial repair we assessed.

RESULTSAll 236 cases with 311 fingers were replanted, 40 fingers were failured after operation. The relative factors on the failure in digit replantation included smoking history, cause of injury, plane of division, condition of venous drainage and condition of arterial repair (P< 0.05). There were no significant correlation between the failure and age, gender, finger and ischemia duration (P>0.05).

CONCLUSIONSmoking history, causes of injury, plane of division, condition of venous drainage and condition of arterial repair are risks of failure in digit replantation. Before choosing the type of operation, it should be think about the patient's general conditions, injury status, grasp firmly the operative indications and actively carry out surgical treatment.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Child ; Female ; Finger Injuries ; surgery ; Fingers ; surgery ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Reconstructive Surgical Procedures ; Replantation ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Thumb ; injuries ; surgery ; Treatment Failure ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo summarize the therapeutic effect of free perforator hypothenar flap for thumb pulp defect.

METHODSFrom Jun. 2012 to Mar. 2013,8 cases with thumb pulp defect accompanied with exposure of phalanges ans tendons were treated by free ipsilateral perforator hypothenar flap. The flaps were 1.4 cm x 2.0 cm-1.8 cm x 2.2 cm in size. Ulnar finger artery in the flap was anastomosed with thumb artery. The accompanied veins and superficial veins were respectively anastomosed with thumb dorsal veins. Nerve branches in flaps were sutured with unilateral finger nerve to reconstruct flap feeling with 9-0 thread. Wounds in the hypothenar donor site were sutured directly.

RESULTSAll the flaps survived completely with primary healing both in donor and recipient area. 8 cases (8 fingers) were followed up for 6-13 months (average 9 months). The flaps appearance, texture were good. The two-point discrimination distance on flap was 7-10 mm. The active and passive movement of thumb joints was normal. There was no complain about the feeling at the donor site. Linear scar was left on the donor site. Patients hand grip strength was not decreased.

CONCLUSIONSThe free perforator hypothenar flap which has constant vascular anatomy is a new method for thumb soft tissue defect with less morbidity to donor site. The operative procedures are relatively simple.

Cicatrix ; etiology ; Finger Phalanges ; Fingers ; blood supply ; Hand Strength ; Humans ; Perforator Flap ; transplantation ; Tendons ; Thumb ; injuries ; Ulnar Artery ; surgery ; Veins ; Wound Healing

OBJECTIVETo study clinical effects of one-hole microplate internal fixation for the treatment of collateral ligament injuries of the metacarpophalangeal joint of the thumb combined with fracture.

METHODSTwenty-two patients (16 males, 6 females) with collateral ligament injuries of the metacarpophalangeal joint of the thumb combined fracture were treated with one-hole microplate internal fixation. The age of the patients ranged from 18 to 53 years old with a mean age of 28.5 years old. The duration from injury to surgery ranged from 2 hours to 2 months, and the mean time was 6 days. All the patients had collateral ligament injuries combined with fracture of the metacarpophalangeal joint of the thumb. Thirteen patients had injuries in the right hand and 9 patients had injuries in the left hand. There were 18 cases of closed wound and 4 cases of open wound. Eighteen patients had fresh injuries (< 2 weeks) and 4 had old injuries (> 2 weeks). Sixteen patients had injuries in the ulnar collateral ligament of the thumb combined with fracture, 6 patients had radial collateral ligament injuries of the thumb combined with fracture, 4 cases of which were complicated with injuries of abductor pollicis brevis and the end of the flexor pollicis brevis tender. The size of the avulsed fragment was about 3.0 mm x 4.0 mm to 6.0 mm x 7.0 mm.

RESULTSThe incisions of 22 patients healed by first intention. The follow-up periods ranged from 6 months to 5 years old,with an average of 2.5 years old. The thumb function was evaluated by Saetta and other evaluation criteria, and 20 patients got an excellent result and 2 good.

CONCLUSIONThe application of one-hole microplate internal fixation in treating collateral ligament injuries with fracture of the metacarpophalangeal joint of the thumb is an effective method.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Bone Plates ; Collateral Ligaments ; injuries ; surgery ; Female ; Fracture Fixation, Internal ; methods ; Fractures, Bone ; surgery ; Humans ; Male ; Metacarpophalangeal Joint ; injuries ; surgery ; Middle Aged ; Thumb ; injuries ; surgery ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo study the effect of island flap from dorsoulnar side of thumb in repairing deep wound on thumb.

METHODSTwenty-two patients with deep wound on thumb were hospitalized from May 2007 to December 2013. The wounds ranged from 2.0 cm x 1.5 cm to 4.0 cm x 2.5 cm in area. Island flap of dorsoulnar thumb was used to repair these defects, with flap area ranging from 2.1 cm x 1.6 cm to 4.1 cm x 2.6 cm. All the donor sites were closed by transplantation of full-thickness skin from upper medial arm.

RESULTSAll flaps survived with good blood supply. All deep wounds of thumb were closed. Skin grafts of donor sites all survived. Patients were followed up for 6 to 12 months. The texture, color, and shape of all flaps were satisfactory, and functions of injured thumbs recovered well.

CONCLUSIONSTransplantation of island flap from dorsoulnar side of thumb can be performed easily with high survival rate and satisfactory configuration, and it is suitable for repairing deep wound of thumb.

Arm ; Burns ; surgery ; Follow-Up Studies ; Graft Survival ; Humans ; Reconstructive Surgical Procedures ; methods ; Recovery of Function ; Skin ; Skin Transplantation ; Soft Tissue Injuries ; surgery ; Surgical Flaps ; Thumb ; injuries ; surgery ; Treatment Outcome ; Wound Healing