Objective To investigate the effectiveness of cross finger flap pedicled with the dorsal branch of proper digital artery in repairing degloving injury of the fingertip. Methods Between January 2010 and June 2012, 13 cases of degloving injury of single fingertip were treated, including 9 males and 4 females with an average age of 33.6 years (range, 17-46 years). The defect locations were index finger in 5 cases, middle finger in 3 cases, ring finger in 3 cases, and little finger in 2 cases, including 4 cases of mechanical injury, 6 cases of twist injury, and 3 cases of crushing injury. The extent of skin avulsion was beyond the distal interphalangeal joint. The length of the avulsion was 1.0-2.1 cm (mean, 1.8 cm). Complicated injuries included phalangeal fracture in 2 cases. The time from injury to operation was 90-330 minutes (mean, 150 minutes). The wound was repaired with the cross finger flap pedicled with the dorsal branch of proper digital artery. The size of flaps ranged from 3.2 cm × 2.3 cm to 4.2 cm × 3.1 cm. After 3-4 weeks, the pedicle was cut. The donors were closed by skin graft. Results Tension blisters of the flap and partial necrosis of skin graft occurred in 3 cases and in 1 case respectively, which were cured after symptomatic treatment; the flap and skin graft survived, and primary healing was obtained in the other cases. Thirteen patients were followed up 6-10 months (mean, 7 months). The texture and appearance of all the flaps were satisfactory. At 6 months after operation, two-point discrimination ranged from 7 to 10 mm (mean, 8.1 mm). The total active movement of the fingers were excellent in 10 cases and good in 3 cases, and the excellent and good rate was 100%. Conclusion The treatment of degloving injury of fingertip with the cross finger flap pedicled with the dorsal branch of proper digital artery is recommendable for the advantages of reliable blood supply, simple operation, high survival rate of the flap, good function recovery of the finger, and satisfactory appearance.
Objective To summarize the injury characteristics of the whole hand degloving injury and to explore its classification and treatment. Methods Between December 1999 and May 2010, 41 cases of the whole hand degloving injury were admitted for treatment. There were 28 males and 13 females with an average age of 35 years (range, 18-58 years). The causesof injury included mangled injury in 28 cases and crush injury in 13 cases. The interval between injury and surgery was 1-10 hours (mean, 3 hours). According to self-made classification standard for whole hand degloving injury, 11 cases were rated as type I, 5 cases as type II, 4 cases as type III, 8 cases as type IV, and 13 cases as type V. Type I injury was treated by replantation surgery with vascular anastomosis, type II by reconstruction with thumb flap and the second toe containing dorsal skin flap, type III by reconstruction with the second toe containing dorsal skin flap of both feet, type IV by replantation surgery with vascular anastomosis, and type V by reconstruction with thumb flap containing dorsal skin flap (8 cases) or repairing with abdominal flap (5 cases). The size of the dorsal flap was between 9 cm × 6 cm and 17 cm × 11 cm and the dorsal donor site was covered with free skin grafting. Results After surgery, partial necrosis occurred at fingers in 6 patients with type I injury, and at fingers and palm skin in 6 patients with type IV injury; the flaps, the reconstructed fingers, and replanted skin all survived in the others. The grafted skin at donor sites successfully healed. Forty cases were followed up from 6 months to 7 years (mean, 14 months). The skin color and texture were close to normal hand in the cases undergoing replantation, who had the best function restoration with S2-S4 sensory recovery; the hand function was basically restored with S2-S3 sensory recovery in the cases undergoing finger reconstruction with thumb and toe flaps; and the restoration of the hand function was not satisfactory with S1-S2 sensory recovery in the cases undergoing abdominal flaps. Conclusion Whole hand degloving injury can be classified into different types according to injury degree and this will help choose the cl inical treatment plan. The appropriate treatment based on these types can obtain better cl inical effectiveness.
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical effects of the microsurgical treatment for the skin-degloving injury of the whole hand or foot. METHODS: From March 1984 to October 2001, we treated 6 cases of skin-degloving injury of the whole hand and foot. In 2 cases of skin-degloving hands, one was treated with free great omentum transplantation plus skin graft, the other with pedical abdominal S-shaped skin flap as well as mid-thick skin graft. In 4 cases of skin-degloving injury of the foot, 2 cases was repaired with free latissimus dosi musculocutaneous flap, 1 case with distall-based lateral skin flap of the leg and 1 case with free tensor fasciae latae muscle flap. The flap size ranged from 7 cm x 9 cm to 22 cm x 15 cm. One case was operated on the emergency stage, the other 5 cases on the delayed stage. The delayed time ranged from 2 to 14 days with an average of 6.6 days. RESULTS: All the flaps survived. After 1-2 year follow-up, the appearance and function of the hand and the foot were good. CONCLUSION: Microsurgery technique in repairing skin-degloving injury of the whole hand and foot can achieve good results. The keys to success are thorough debridement of the recipient area, appropriate selection of the donor site, good vascular anastomosis and active postoperative rehabilitation.
ObjectiveTo compare the effectiveness between toe transfer combined with an abdominal flap and bag-shaped abdominal flap for treatment of totally degloved hand. MethodsBetween January 2005 and January 2012,18 patients with totally degloved hand were treated by two kinds of techniques.Those patients were divided into 2 groups according to the technique.The bag-shaped abdominal flap was used in 8 cases (group A),and toe transfer with a dorsalis pedis skin flap combined with abdominal S-shaped tile-joint subdermal vascular network flaps was performed in 10 cases (group B).There was no significant difference in gender,age,injury cause,injury degree,and interval between injury and operation between 2 groups (P>0.05).The static two-point discrimination (s2PD),grip power of the reconstructed hand,time of returning to work,and active total range of motion (ROM) of the operated finger were compared between 2 groups to assess the effectiveness. ResultsAll flaps and skin grafts survived in 2 groups.One flap suffered vascular crisis at 2 days after operation and survived after surgical exploration in group B.All patients were followed up 12-24 months (mean,16 months).At last follow-up,group B showed a better recovery of s2PD of the thumb and ROM,and shorter time of returning to work than group A (P<0.05),but no significant difference was found in grip power of the reconstructed hand and s2PD of the other fingers between 2 groups (P>0.05). ConclusionThe technique of toe transfer combined with an abdominal flap is better than traditional bag-shaped abdominal flap with the advantages of easy dissection,less time of operation,and satisfactory functional recovery.