Finger Prosthesis: An Economic and Esthetic Approach

Abstract

Fabrication of prosthetic fingers is more of an art than a science. The prosthetic finger must match the missing fingers or digits to such an extent to have a natural aesthetic look for the patient. This would build up the patient's confidence and prevent unwanted attraction by others. A patient, 47 years old, reported the loss of the middle finger of the right hand. The loss of the right middle finger was till the first phalanx, and it was distorted till the second phalanx. The patient wanted to have a natural look at his hand. Alginate impressions of the patient's amputated finger and the donor's relevant matching fingertip were made. A waxed prosthesis pattern was fabricated with the donor's fingertip. A wax trial was done in the patient, and was flasked. A heat cure acrylic was intrinsically painted with acrylic paint color to match the adjacent finger's skin tone, followed by packing these in the dewaxed mold, processed, trimmed, finished, and polished. This case report describes a method of obtaining or enhancing retention of the prosthetic finger by adopting a customized finger ring on the master cast and also customizing the prosthesis in the clinical rest position to have the aesthetic appearance in the resting condition of the palms and fingers. This method is cheaper and very easy to be adopted for affected people.