Stack Splinting Versus Kirschner Wire Treatment in Acute Closed Mallet Finger Doyle I

Mallet injuries are common and usually treated conservatively. Various systematic reviews have found a lack of evidence regarding the best management, and it is still unclear.

To evaluate the treatment efficacy of Stack Splinting compared to a Kirschner wire immobilization of acute closed mallet finger Doyle I.

From March 2019 to February 2020, 41 patients with acute close mallet finger Doyle I were treated; 19 patients were treated with Kirschner wire and 22 with Stack splinting for a mean of 6 weeks. The average patient age at the time of the injury was 43 years.

Twenty-eight males and 13 females were in this study. Among them, 17 patients were injured in the little finger, 15 in the middle finger, and 9 in the ring finger. Twenty-seven of injuries suffered an aggression, 11 from falling, and 3 from sports injuries. All the fingers had typical mallet malformation. Seventeen patients treated with Kirschner wire completed the treatment with full recovery, only 7 patients treated with Stack splint completed the treatment and 15 treated with Stack splint had relapse on mallet injury.

Kirschner wire treatment is a simple procedure, and proves in this study that has better results in patients with acute closed mallet finger Doyle I compared to Stack splint.