The abdominal flap using scarred skin in the treatment of postburn hand deformities of severe burn patients

Abstract

Purpose To present a random-pattern flap technique using scarred skin from the abdominal wall to cover the defect after burn scar was released from the hand and the scarred skin raised from the hand was transferred to the abdominal wall to cover the flap-donor area in patients who suffered from severe burns involving the entire body and had no available healthy skin to be used for coverage. Methods Ten hands of 7 patients (5 males, 2 females) were treated in our department between April 1994 and February 2001. The total body surface area involved with second-or third-degree burns was 85% to 96% and there was no available healthy skin to be used for reconstruction. All hands had severe scar contracture on the dorsum and lost most of their function and the patients lost the ability to take care of themselves. The scarred skin on the dorsum of the hand was elevated integrally as a flap based on the ulnar border of the hand. The tendons were released, the stiff metacarpophalangeal joints were mobilized by closed capsulotomies, and the contracture of the thumb web space was released. A random-pattern abdominal flap using scarred skin was designed and elevated to cover the defect of the scar-released hand and the scarred skin raised from the dorsum of the hand was transferred to cover the defect of the abdominal flap donor site. Results The flaps that were transferred to the dorsum of the hands survived entirely and the defects of the flap donor area were covered perfectly without further skin graft. All patients were evaluated for 0.5 to 4 years after surgery. The range of motion of the metacarpophalangeal joints and the space capacity of the thumb web were improved greatly. All patients regained the ability to take care of themselves. Conclusions This method is simple and has satisfactory results. It appears from our experience that the mature postburn scarred skin on the abdomen can be used for a flap procedure for reconstructing the burned hand and that the scarred skin raised from the dorsum of the hand can be transferred to cover the flap donor sites on the abdomen. Under circumstances in which there is no normal skin for reconstruction the function of the burned hand could be improved greatly by this method.