Repairing thumb tip defect with radial thenar fasciocutaneous flap / 中华显微外科杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To investigate the surgical method and clinical effect in the repair of thumb tip defect with radial thenar fasciocutaneous flap.Methods:From March, 2016 to January, 2019, 15 patients with thumb tip defect were treated by radial thenar fasciocutaneous flap. There were 6 defects in left thumb and 9 in right thumb. All the thumbtip defects had the exposure of digital bone, and some had defects of digital bone itself. The size of defects ranged from 1.0 cm×2.0 cm to 1.5 cm×3.0 cm, and the size of the flaps ranged from 1.2 cm×2.5 cm to 1.8 cm×4.0 cm. All of the donor sites were directly closed. The patients entered follow-up by outpatient visit, telephone calls or WeChat reviews to evaluate the quality of the flaps and the clinical effects of the surgery.Results:All flaps survived with good quality. All the donor sites achieved primary healing. The follow-ups lasted for 6 to 18 months with an average of 10.5 months. At the final follow-up review, the appearance of flaps was satisfactory in natural colour, flexible and wear-resistant. There were various degrees of sensation recovery of the flaps, with TPD from 6 mm to 12 mm. The sensation around the donor site was close to normal. Function of the thumbs was evaluated according to the total active movement (TAM) evaluation system. Twelve thumbs were graded excellent and 3 in good.Conclusion:The radial thenar fasciocutaneous flap achieved satisfactory clinical effect in the repair of thumb tip defect. The texture of the flaps is close to the recipient site and the damage to the donor site is minimal.