Reconstruction of fingertip injuries with flaps

Fingertip injuries with major distal phalangeal amputations and loss of terminal pulp are very frequent in surgical practice. The good available techniques for the repair of these injuries range from the simple procedures, free graft, to reconstruction with flaps, thenar or cross-finger flap.Materials and methods: This retrospective study includes anamnestic, the level of injury in fingers, as well as operative data for all patients underwent surgery, treated for fingertip injuries from January 2005 until 2018 in University Clinic Center of Kosovo, Clinic of Surgery, Department of Plastic Surgery in Pristina.Results: From January 2005 until December 2018, in our department treated 34 patients with fingertip injury. There were 27 men (79.4%) and 7 women (20.6 %) ranging in age from 13 to 59 years (mean age 23 year). From analysis of sort of covering of wound, notice that in 15 cases (44.1%) used thenar flap, and other cases-19 (55.9%) used cross-finger flap. Conclusions: The major indication for thenar flap is amputation of the digits distal to the interphalangeal joint, and this flap providing adequate subcutaneous tissue for pulp restoration, good tissue match for texture, appearance, and recovery of sensibility. For amputations proximal to the DIP joint, cross-finger flap may then be preferable.