Comparative Analysis of a Modified Secondary Healing Protocol for Fingertip Amputations and Non-microsurgical Reconstruction Techniques^*

Abstract

Objective  To describe and compare the results obtained with a secondary healing protocol for fingertip amputations and their relationship to injury severity according to the Allen classification.

Methods  Medical records of 127 fingertip injuries were revised, and a retrospective, comparative, analytical study the amputations treated conservatively was performed. Injury characteristics, healing time, and complications were described and analyzed.

Results  Between April 2017 and May 2019, 127 fingertip injuries were treated conservatively. The average age of the sample was of 28.33 years. The average healing time was of 4.31 weeks. The complications during the follow-up were observed in 18.9% (n = 24) of the cases, but none require revision treatment. A statistically significant relationship between the development of complications and treatment revision according to the Allen classification was not found (p ≥ 0.05).

Conclusion  The proposed secondary healing protocol has shown to be safe and effective in types 1 to 3 fingertip amputations in the Allen classification, and it should be included as a therapeutic option even in injuries of greater extension than those that have traditionally been limited to.

Keywords finger injuries; amputation; hand injuries; wound healing