Direct and Reversed Dorsal Digito-metacarpal Flaps: A Review of 24 Cases

Multiple digital injuries are often complex and severe, and the commonly used local and regional flaps may not be feasible. The authors reconstruct soft tissue defects of the fingers using the dorsal digito-metacarpal flap and evaluate the efficacy of this technique.

At final follow-up, we measure the sensibility of the flaps using the static 2-point discrimination test. The Static 2-point discrimination test determines the minimal distance at which a subject can sense the presence of two needle. The modified American Society for Surgery of the Hand guidalines are used to stratify discriminator measurements(excellent \<6 mm, good 6-10 mm, fair 11-15 mm, poor \>15 mm). Each area is tested 3 times with a Discriminator (Ali Med, Dedham, MA). Two out of 3 correct answers are considered proof of perception before proceeding to another lower value. We stopp at 4mm as a limit of 2PD and consider this normal. The measurements are performed at a single time point at final follow up.