Experience of Cross-Finger Flap

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the experience of cross-finger flap in patients presenting in a private
setup.
Patients and Methods: The study was conducted in a private setup from January 2006 to
December 2008. All the patients undergoing cross-finger flap were included. The cross-finger flap
was raised under local anaesthesia in adults and young children whereas in younger patients,
general anaesthesia was given. All the flaps were raised under the tourniquet control. The donor
site was closed primarily with a full-thickness skin graft and a tie-over dressing was used to
stabilize the graft. The pedicle was divided after 2 weeks and the flap was insetted. After the
pedicle division, the flap portion was insetted at the donor site using non-absorbable
monofilament sutures.
Results: 31 patients underwent cross-finger flap. Majority of the patients were males (64.5%)
with male to female ratio of 1.8:1. The average age in female patients was 19.5 years (range 3-36
years) and 28.7 years (range 11-39 years) in males. The post-burn contracture was the main
cause (41.9%) followed by road traffic accidents (35.5%). Left hand was predominantly involved
(61.3%). Middle finger (35.5%) was the commonest to be involved followed by index (29%), ring
(25.8%), thumb (6.5%) and little finger (3.2%). Hyper-pigmentation occurred in 22.6% and partial
graft loss in 6.5%. No case of hypertrophic scarring/keloid was seen. There was no loss of flap.
The patients were followed up for 6 months and majority of the patients were satisfied with the
functional and aesthetic outcome.
Conclusion: The cross-finger flap is a useful and dependable means of resurfacing finger
defects