Versatility of the Cross-Finger Flap for Reconstruction of the Thumb.

The thumb is responsible for 40% of the hand function. Therefore, when resurfacing of the thumb is required, cross-fi nger flap may prove very useful. In this paper, we reported three cases where cross-fi nger flaps were used successfully in order to cover soft tissue defects of the thumb`s distal phalanx. No major complications were encountered. All patients were satisfi ed with the cosmetic aspect of the reconstruction procedure (9 on VAS). All the fi ngers were fully functional, with a mean TAM score of 266° for the donor fi ngers and a mean DASH score of 2.16 after 1 year from injury. Using this technique, we obtain good quality soft and bulky tissue to restore the original form of the thumb in order to prevent function loss by reducing length and primary suture of the fi nger. Therefore, we consider this method very effective in covering vital structures with almost no morbidity related to the donor site. Alongside other previous papers describing this technique, we concluded that the cross-fi nger flap is a versatile reconstruction procedure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]