A new article published in Hand Surgery & Rehabilitation discussed that although finger amputations are not life-threatening, they are functionally and psychologically problematic for the patient. The authors stated that successful replantation of amputated fingers results in better appearance and functional outcome. Thereafter, the patients satisfaction and psychological status improve. The first step in replantation involves bone and joint fixation. Rapid and rigid fixation allows the surgeon to focus on repairing soft tissues. The present article described a four-finger metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joint replantation with a new technique where no fixation device is used for MCP joints. It was reported that all four fingers survived and the total active motion of the replanted fingers ranged from 220-250 degrees. While the grip strength was 40 kg and pinch strength was 5 kg; two-point discrimination ranged from 4-8 mm. The outcome was deemed successful compared to previous reports. It was inferred that when amputation occurs at the MCP joint level, the fixation stage can be omitted to allow early repair of soft tissues.

Source: Hand Surgery & Rehabilitation. 2020 Feb 20. pii: S2468-1229(20)30036-0. doi: 10.1016/j.hansur.2020.01.007.