The 2003 Annual Meeting of OASYS_NEW

Not yet assigned to a slot - 5:40 AM

Free Multiple Toes to Hand Transfer for Mutilating Hand Injuries

Tsai TM and Thomas BP. Christine M Kleinert Institute for Hand and Microsurgery, 225 Abraham Flexner Way #700, Louisville, KY, USA

Mutilating injuries of the hand result in prolonged physical and economic morbidity. Multiple toe to hand transfers is a good management option in the treatment of selected cases. We report the use of multiple free toe transfers as salvage procedures done either immediately for primary reconstruction or secondarily as a reconstructive procedure for restoring sensibility. The sensory recovery following pulp resurfacing averaged 13 mm in the transferred pulps. The function of the foot was not compromised after removing 2 or more toes from the same foot. Harvesting multiple toes from the same foot localizes the potential morbidity to one foot. Primary reconstruction is preferred wherever possible as it reduces the duration of treatment and the number of procedures.