Repair of soft tissue defects of the fingers with medial plantar venous flap

OBJECTIVE: To report the surgical procedures and efficacy of using medial plantar venous flap for the repair of soft tissue defects of the fingers. Methods: From March 2010 to April 2012, medial plantar venous flaps were harvested to repair the wounds of 31 fingers in 29 cases. Among them, there were 13 middle fingers with defects at the tips in 11 cases, 7 fingers with defects in the dorsal part in 7 cases, and 11 fingers with defects in the finger pulp in 11 cases. The size of the defects ranged from 1.2cmx1.5 cm to 2.5cm x 3.5cm. Medial plantar venous flaps of 1.5cm x 2cm - 3x4 cm were harvested. Full-thickness skin grafts were adopted for the donor areas. RESULTS: All 31 flaps survived, except for 1 flap with arterial crisis and 2 cases with venous crisis. These conditions were timely corrected by secondary anastomosis of artery and vein and the flaps survived. The wounds and the donor areas achieved healing by the first intention. All grafted skins survived. Postoperative follow-up was conducted for 26 fingers in 24 cases for 4-12 months, excluding 5 cases with lost follow-up. The dorsal part of the damaged fingers had normal morphology, and the skin color and texture were similar to those of the normal skin. After the repair of defects in the fingertip and pulp, fingerprints appeared, and the protective sensation was restored. CONCLUSION: The soft tissue defects of the fingers can be satisfactorily repaired with medial plantar venous flap, and little damage is caused to the donor area. This method is proven effective for the repair of soft tissue defects of the fingers.