Covering Soft Tissue Defects within the Thumb: a Subjective Review of Operative Techniques

Treatment of soft tissue defects in the thumb often requires the use of non-standard surgical techniques such as local-, regional pedicled-, cross-finger- and island flaps from the same finger. The aim of this paper is to present the most commonly used methods of covering thumb tissue defects and opinions on their effectiveness, versatility and popularity. The technique of making 7 flaps used to cover the defects of thumb tissues is described and their disadvantages, advantages and usefulness in individual types of defects are discussed. Non-pedicled flaps are technically simpler and safer, but they have a smaller range and do not recover sensation. Flaps with a long peduncle are more difficult technically, but they allow you to reach the places of defects on the entire thumb and provide sensation recovery. The choice of a method of treating thumb tissue defects is the result of several factors: the size and location of the defect, the surgeon’s skills and experience, as well as his knowledge of individual surgical techniques. The article also contains suggestions from the Author, who is an experienced hand surgeon, which may be useful in practice for all those dealing with this area of surgery, both occasionally (in the emergency setting) and on an elective basis.