Lengthening of the finger fillet flap to cover dorsal wrist defects*

The concept of ‘spare-part’ flaps in hand reconstruction is most commonly applied using finger fillet flaps to cover dorsal or volar hand defects. In this paper, we introduce the concept of utilization of spare-part finger fillet flaps in a cross-finger fashion.

The technique is demonstrated in two case reports. In both cases, there was one finger that was severely crushed requiring amputation. The bones from that finger were removed and the fillet finger flap was utilized to reconstruct a complex defect in an adjacent digit. Immediate post-operative physiotherapy was employed and flap division was done 17–18 days later. Both patients were satisfied with the outcome and returned back to work as manual workers.

Differences between previous techniques / types of cross-finger flaps and the current spare-part fillet cross-finger flap technique are discussed.

We introduce the concept of utilization of spare-part finger fillet flaps in a cross-finger fashion.

Dans les cas de lésions traumatiques multidigitales, les tissus provenant d’un segment amputé peuvent être utilisés pour la reconstruction de pertes de substance tissulaires localisées sur d’autres doigts.

Au travers d’une série de sept patients, les auteurs illustrent les différentes possibilités d’utilisation de « tissus-banque » en chirurgie de la main d’urgence.

Les résultats fonctionnels sont présentés.

Les différentes techniques de reconstruction utilisant le principe de « tissus-banque » sont discutées.

Dans le cadre de lésions multidigitales, le chirurgien doit saisir l’opportunité unique qui lui est offerte d’utiliser des tissus provenant de doigts amputés ou non conservables afin de reconstruire les segments voisins.

In the case of multidigital hand trauma, the tissue of the amputated parts can be used for the reconstruction of the defected tissue localized on the other fingers.

A series of seven patients has been reviewed in this paper; the authors illustrate the different possibilities of using the “spare-parts concept” in the emergency hand trauma surgery.

The functional results are presented.

The different techniques of reconstruction using the “spare-parts concept” are discussed.

In the cases of multidigital lesions, the surgeon should choose the best opportunity to use the tissue of the amputated digits, or the non-conservable ones, to reconstruct the neighboring preserved segments.