Repair of large soft-tissue finger defects with super-thin mobile abdominal flap at thickness of finger skin

Abstract

Background: The repair of soft-tissue defects on fingers usually utilize hand and finger flaps near the defect area. Regional flaps are insufficient for multifinger defects or defects larger than 5 cm, while pedicle flaps produce esthetically and functionally unsatisfactory outcomes due to the thickness of the donor tissue. This study investigates the use of abdominal flaps prepared to match the thickness of finger skin. Material and Methods: A total of 12 fingers (six patients: 3M, 3F, average age: 27), all with soft-tissue defects, that required local flap surgery but for which adjacent local flaps were not sufficient, were included in this study. Random glove-like mobile abdominal flaps prepared from the inguinal region, were applied in similar thinness to the defect skin on all fingers. Results: Cases were followed postoperatively for an average of 7 years. Flap necrosis was not encountered in any patient, and no patients required additional surgery. esthetically and functionally, satisfactory results were obtained by treating large finger defects caused by injuries using this method. Conclusion: We demonstrated that a mobile flap harvested at the thickness of finger skin can be adapted to the finger in such a way that the finger can remain completely outside. This method is favorable and reliable in situations where local flaps are inadequate, such as in the treatment of finger wounds with large defects, multiple finger injuries necessitating circumferential style repairs or where distant and free flaps would lead to esthetic and functional problems.