Surgical Correction of Postburn Flexion Contractures of the Fingers in Children

One-hundred forty-eight operative procedures for flexion contractures of the finger(s) following burn injury in children have been studied in detail with follow-up from 6 months to 8 years. Intramedullary K-wires, used for 53 procedures where a graft was done, were associated with a significantly worse long-term result, and graft take was not improved by using K-wires. Length of time between burn injury and reconstruction, age at time of operation, the use of full-thickness versus partial-thickness grafts, and the digit involved had an apparent effect on final result. The use of postoperative topical steroids could not be evaluated adequately in this study. The preferred operative techniques for this condition are discussed.