Purpose
Fingertip injuries are common in industrial production activities as well as in domestic work. Loss of pulp hampers daily life activities. Functional and aesthetic aspects are important in fingertip reconstruction. The bone is usually exposed along with soft tissue loss. Therefore to reconstruct the pulp flap with adequate bulk is required.
Methods
We reported a case series of 12 patients with the injury over the volar aspect of distal phalanx of the index or middle finger. In all cases, laterally based thenar flap was chosen. The flap donor site was closed primarily in most of cases, while 4 patients required skin graft. The flap was detached between 2–3 weeks. Functional assessment was done using static and dynamic 2-point discrimination and range of motion at each joint. The aesthetic outcome was assessed through questionnaire. The results were analyzed using the unpaired
t
-test (SPSS version 21).
Results
Partial necrosis occurred in 2 cases while rest of flaps survived successfully. Static 2-point discrimination ranged from 6–10 mm, mean 8.6 mm; and dynamic 2-point discrimination ranged from 8–10 mm, mean 8.9 mm. The mean satisfaction score was (4.0 ± 0.55).
Conclusion
Thenar flap is a good choice for reconstruction of the finger pulp as it provides the bulk with good functional and aesthetic outcome.
The COVID-19 pandemic having spread globally has profound implications on medical and surgical care, which is given by the health care providers. At this time, though there are guidelines and recommendations for medical management of these patients, there is a lack of guidance on how a plastic surgeon should approach the COVID-19 suspect or infected patient who presents either in an elective or emergency setting. We aim to provide a consensus guideline based on the current recommendations of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the pooled experience of the major centers performing plastic and reconstructive surgery in India. Methods: The current guidelines and recommendations on the COVID-19 pandemic were studied from both government and nongovernment sources including ICMR. The problems in the Conflict of interest disclosure: The authors do not have any commercial associations or financial disclosures that might pose or create a conflict of interest with information presented in any submitted manuscript.
Congenital nasal anomalies are rare and occur in 1/20 000–1/40 000 newborns. An 8-year-old boy presented with developmental aplasia of bilateral nasal lower lateral cartilages, with excessive wrinkled and loose skin on the dorsum of the nose and with difficulty breathing through the nose. This is probably the first such case to be reported in the literature. The defect was reconstructed using conchal and septal cartilage grafting through an external rhinoplasty approach. At the end of the 12-month follow-up period, the patient was found to be satisfied with the functional and aesthetic results of the operation. Bilateral congenital aplasia of nasal lower lateral cartilages is extremely rare. Paediatric rhinoplasty is imperative in such cases.
Since the first description of the cross-finger flap in 1950 for finger injury defect cover, over the last 70 years it has been tremendously explored and has underwent innumerable refinements and modifications. Whether used alone or in combination with other flaps for the reconstruction of finger defects, traumatic or non-traumatic, cross finger flap has proven its worth as a workhorse for finger reconstruction. Despite a handful of innate disadvantages, it has given excellent sensory, functional, and aesthetic outcomes in vast majority of studies. This article has been an attempt to reveal the entire rich journey and inexhaustible history of cross finger flap. With such a grandiose potential, it only seems that the cross finger flap will be continuously evolving over time and keep serving mankind in better ways.
Background Defining cut-off values of flap glucose levels in diagnosing free flap vascular compromise, without taking patients' glucose levels into account, does not hold good in all circumstances, especially in cases of high fluctuations in patients' capillary blood glucose and in diabetic patients. The aim of our study was to establish the role of capillary blood glucose measurements of the flap in relation to patients' fingertip, as an objective tool for postoperative free flap monitoring.
Methods A total of 76 free flaps underwent postoperative monitoring with reference test (clinical parameters) and simultaneously with our index test (difference between capillary blood glucose of free flap and the patient), in non-diabetic and diabetic patients. Patients' demography and flap characteristics were also recorded. An ROC curve was plotted to determine diagnostic accuracy and cut-offs of the index test in diagnosing free flap vascular compromise.
Results Our Index test has a cut-off value of 24.5 mg/dL with 68.75% sensitivity and 93% specificity, with an accuracy of 91.54%.
Conclusion The difference between capillary blood glucose of free flap and the patient is simple, feasible, and inexpensive, and can be done by any health care professional and does not require any specialized facilities or training. It has an excellent diagnostic accuracy to detect impending free flap vascular compromise, especially in non-diabetics. Although in diabetics, this test becomes less accurate. Being an observer-independent objective test, the difference in capillary blood glucose of patient and flap measurement can be used as a highly reliable tool for postoperative free flap monitoring.
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