Destructive joint disease following replantation of digits of the hand

Microsurgical techniques now often allow the repair of severed digits. After noticing destructive joint changes in a patient who underwent such repair, the authors examined the postoperative radiographs of 27 other patients who underwent repair of severed digits at the University Hospital, London, Ontario, between 1984 and 1987. They found five patients who were similarly affected. The mechanism of destruction is not known, but the authors believe that osteonecrosis plays a role or that the cause may be neurovascular.