[Treatment of blast injuries of the hand]

Blast injuries of the hand result from the manipulation of handmade explosives, the blast causes most damage in the first web. Our purpose is to propose a classification of these injuries so as to lead to a therapeutic strategy.

We report a series of nine blast injuries of the hand in eight patients of average age 24 years. The aetiologie was handmade explosive manufacture (five cases) and the manipulation of munitions (four cases). Five hands presented an amputation of the thumb together with the index and in three of them, the long finger was involved as well. Only one thumb was revascularised successfully. Four thumbs were reconstructed, two by toe transfer, and two by "index bank".

We observed four different stages: Stage 1: Isolated musculo-cutaneous injury. An intermetacarpal pin avoids first web contracture. Skin coverage is achieved by a pedicled local flap or a skin graft. Stage 2: Osteo-articular injuries of the thumb and second ray but sparing the trapezo-metacarpal joint. The thumb reconstruction is often based upon rinciple. Stage 3: Characterised by a destructive injury of the trapezo-metacarpal joint. Stage 4: Amputation or devascularization of the thumb. Extensive vascular injuries neccessitate a bypass from a healthy zone. The amputations, which are mostly proximal, require a preliminary osteocutaneous reconstruction of the first metacarpal before any toe transfer. Finger translocations are made difficult because of the high rate of serious injuries of the index and palm.