THE REVERSE DIGITAL ARTERY ISLAND FLAP - CLINICAL-EXPERIENCE IN 120 FINGERS

Fingertip injuries represent the most common type of injuries seen in the upper extremity. Their management is functionally and aestheticall y important but at the same time very controversial. The aim of this s tudy is to report usefulness and postoperative results of reverse digi tal artery island flaps for fingertip reconstruction. From July of 198 4 to December of 1995, 120 fingers in 110 patients with defects of the distal phalanx were reconstructed by reverse digital artery island fl aps at Korea University Guro Hospital. Mie reviewed the medical record s of our cases and analyzed them in several aspects. In 21 cases, neur orrhaphy was performed to improve sensibility. In the majority of the cases, the defect was covered primarily, whereas in 27 cases it was co vered secondarily after composite graft, replantation, and so on. All the flaps survived except for one. Long-term follow-up for more than 6 months was possible in 44 fingers in 41 patients. Light touch and tem perature sensation could be detected in all the evaluated flaps. The m ean values of the static two-point discrimination test in sensate and insensate flaps were 6.2 and 10.2 mm, respectively. The reverse digita l artery island flap is a safe and reliable procedure with a high surv ival rate and therefore is an excellent choice for coverage of fingert ip defects.