Free toe pulp flap for finger pulp and volar defect reconstruction.

Abstract

Background: Fingertip injury requiring flap cover is very common in the modern era. The ideal cover should fulfill both functional and aesthetic improvement.

Materials and methods: From June 2015 to April 2016, we performed seven free toe pulp flaps for finger defect reconstruction. All patients were males. Five flaps were done in emergency post-traumatic cases, and two were done in elective set up. The cases included reconstruction of three thumbs, one index and one ring finger in an emergency set up and two ring fingers in the elective. Thumb reconstruction was done with great toe lateral pulp and the other digits reconstructed with second toe pulp flap. Follow-up evaluation included both functional and aesthetic assessment.

Results: Five flaps survived completely, one suffered partial loss, and one flap failed completely. The median follow-up period was 9 months. The median duration of surgery was 255 min (range 210 to 300 min). The median two-point discrimination was 6.5 mm (range 4-8 mm). There was the return of temperature sensation in all patients; two had cold intolerance. The Semmes-Weinstein monofilament score varied from 3.61 to 5.07 (median filament index value 4.31/pressure value of 2 g/mm²). Three patients had delayed donor site wound healing.

Conclusions: The free toe pulp flap is an efficient choice for fingertip and volar finger defects reconstruction with an excellent tissue match.