Extra-anatomic microvascular second toe transfer for creation of a helper hand - a long-term follow-up

Mutilating hand injuries can significantly alter a patient's life. Return to work and daily activities remain the ultimate goal. A case report and long-term follow-up of a patient who caught his hand in a generator fan at work is presented. He sustained an injury that left him with a wrist and metacarpal stump. When prostheses failed, an extra-anatomic second toe transfer was used to produce a functional distal extremity. This transfer allowed the patient to return to his job and was surprisingly durable, resulting in a useful helper hand for 15 years.