Early surgical treatment for collateral ligament rupture of metacarpophalangeal joints of the fingers

Purpose: Thumb metacarpophalangeal (MCP) collateral ligament ruptures are well-known injuries but those occurring in the other fingers seem to be infrequent according to the literature. We undertook this study to evaluate the real incidence of this type of injury and the results of surgical treatment. Method: During a 2-year period care was taken to detect all the patients presenting to our emergency unit with a complete rupture of a collateral ligament of a finger and to perform surgery on them as soon as possible. Clinical reassessment was made regularly until maximal recovery and 2 years after surgery. Results: Ten patients with 12 complete MCP collateral ligament rupture of the fingers were seen during this period. Most of the fingers undergoing surgery regained full mobility within 10.7 weeks on average with no residual instability or pain and with no further problems at 2-year follow up evaluation. Conclusions: Complete ruptures of the MCP collateral ligaments of the fingers are far more frequent than indicated in the literature. Early surgery was found to give highly satisfactory results and may be justified in cases of gross instability of the finger MCP joint. Copyright (C) 2003 by the American Society for Surgery of the Hand.