Evaluation of the two-stage flexor-tendon reconstruction in severely damaged digits

From July 1971 to July 1974, the two-stage tendon-grafting procedure of Hunter and Salisbury was performed in thirty-two severely damaged digits in twenty-five patients. Of these digits, twenty-three fingers and five thumbs could be evaluated for gain in total active flexion (expressed as per cent of preoperative passive flexion) and for gain in total active motion (expressed as per cent of total preoperative passive motion) after follow-ups ranging from six to fifty months. The results for total active flexion were 60.9 per cent good, 21.7 per cent fair, and 17.4 per cent poor, and for total active motion 21.7 per cent good, 56.5 per cent fair, and 21.7 per cent poor. Complications were frequent after both stages and included infection, migration of the rod, and adhesions within the proximal end of the newly formed sheath. Flexion contractures were a significant problem.