Sensory mapping

The primary aim in reconstructive surgery of the upper extremity is to provide tactile gnosis to sensory depleted areas. It is essential for restoration of function and successful rehabilitation of the injured hand. Neurovascular free flaps may provide the answer to this catastrophic problem and transform a useless appendage into a functional gripping hand. Sensory mapping techniques can greatly assist the surgeon in precisely defining new donor sites for these transfers. Cutaneous sensibility, cutaneous sensation, and hand function are subjects of great complexity. Much more investigative and clinical work is needed in this challenging field to improve our evaluation of the sensory injury to the hand and to provide new avenues for restoring functional sensibility in the upper extremity.