Immediate Toe-to-Hand Transfer in Acute Hand Injuries

Journal of the Korean Society for Surgery of the Hand 2002;11(1):19-28.
Published online May 31, 2002.

Sang-Hyun Woo, M.D., Hak-Soo Kim, M.D.

급성 수부 손상시 즉시 족지 전이술

우상현·김학수

Abstract

  From 1994-2001, 25 mutilated digits were reconstructed with immediate toe-to-hand transfer in acute hand injury in 21 patients. There were 15 cases of great toe-to-hand transfer(partial great toe transfer 8 cases, modified wrap-around procedure 2 cases, and trimmed great toe transfer 2 cases) for thumb reconstruction, 2 cases of second toe transfer for index reconstruction, and 4 cases of simultaneous two toe-to-hand transfer(great toe & second toe transfer 1 case, bilateral second-toe transfer 2 cases, combined second & third toe transfer 1 case) for reconstruction of multiple digit amputations. Two cases of emergency exploration(2/25, 8%) were successfully salvaged. The incidence of emergency exploration and postoperative infection was not significantly different from that of the elective toe-to-hand transfer cases. Duration of industrial insurance coverage was 225 days, which is much shorter than that of elective cases. Among 43 % of patients maintained their original job even after injury and immediate toe-to-hand transfer. The subjective satisfaction selfassessment scores of aesthetic appearance and function on the new reconstructed thumb were 80 and 88 in average, respectively, over a total score of 100. These were higher than those of reconstruction of other digits, but lower than those of elective reconstruction. The donor site after harvest of the great toe was mostly unsatisfied in a view of appearance.
  Immediate toe-to-hand transfer provides many advantages over elective procedure in acute hand injuries such as single stage reconstruction, shortened convalescent period, early return to work and efficient socio-economic factor. Furthermore because there were no significant differences in success rate, frequency of complications or ultimate functional result, immediate toe-to-hand transfer is a safe and reliable procedure in case of limited indications for acute digits loss.

Key Words: Immediate Toe-to-Hand Transfer, Acute Hand Injury