Elective cross-hand transfer: a case report with a five-year follow-up

The elective free microvascular cross-hand transfer of the right hand to the left distal carpus was successfully performed in a 35-year old professional photographer. Traumatic loss of the left hand with preservation of a useful thumb and concomitant right upper extremity injury leaving the right hand with an amputated thumb, but paralyzed and insensate from a brachial plexus palsy 5 years before transfer, set the stage for such a reconstruction. Multiple immediate tendon transfers and primary nerve grafting provided for finger flexion and extension plus functional sensibility in this first reported case of an elective cross-hand microvascular transfer. Five years follow-up demonstrates useful and powerful flexion, and functional extension of digits in the reconstructed left hand and right upper extremity function has been improved with a below-elbow prosthesis.