Mid-term results after isolated digital nerve repair in patients presenting with hand injury

Abstract

Digital nerve lacerations are a common type of hand injury and one of the main causes of sensory impairment. The purpose of this study is to investigate the results of surgical treatment of traumatic digital nerve lesions in patient’s hands. We evaluated 65 patients with digital nerve injury that occurred after digital trauma between 2015 and 2018. The participants’ hypoesthesia scores on the numerical rating scale were greater than 5/10. Additionally, they felt hypoesthesia distally above the hand injury in their preliminary examinations at the emergency department. We analyzed the injuries of 65 patients (41 males, 24 females; mean age: 36 ± 2 years; age range: 19–56 years). Group 1 consisted of 26 patients who did not undergo surgery, whereas Group 2 consisted of 39 patients who underwent surgery. We conducted the Semmes–Weinstein monofilament test in Group 1. In total, 9 patients had normal sensations, 12 patients had light touch sensations; and 5 patients had protective sensations. We conducted nerve exploration surgery in Group 2. In total, the 12 patients who underwent this surgery were found to have no pathology in the digital nerve and identified to have neuropraxia. In the other 11 patients, the peripheral nerve was partially lacerated and it was repaired primarily, after performing the nerve exploration surgery on the remaining 16 patients. There wasn’t statistically significant difference between the patients who underwent surgery and who did not undergo surgery in terms of hypoesthesia resulting from nerve laceration.