Coverage of soft tissue defects in the thumb: Essential flaps in daily practice

Coverage of soft tissue defects in the thumb involves a variety of techniques ranging from simple second-intention healing to skin grafting with or without dermal substitutes, to local homodigital or heterodigital flaps and partial toe transfers. The arsenal in terms of skin coverage and especially flaps is very diverse. Our objective is not to make an exhaustive catalog of all the technical possibilities described in the literature, but rather to present in detail the options we have adopted in our daily practice. For each of these techniques, we present the rules for their implementation (anatomical bases, surgical techniques) and their topographical indications.