Arterialized venous dorsal digital island flap for fingertip reconstruction

Fingertip resurfacing is a challenging reconstructive problem; despite the existence of many different surgical methods, enthusiasm on developing versatile flap techniques has been continuing. In this report, we describe an arterialized venous dorsal digital island flap for fingertip reconstruction. The vascularity of the reverse dorsal digital island flap is augmented by performing an arteriovenous anastomosis between a dorsal vein in the flap and one of the proper digital arteries at the fingertip. Eight flaps were used in eight patients for the reconstruction of their fingertip defects. The ages of the patients ranged from 19 to 41 years, with an average of 28.4 years. In two cases, the flap was used as a neurosensorial flap by coapting the dorsal digital radial nerve to the digital nerve. The mean follow-up was 11 months, and all but one flap totally survived. The operative technique is easy except for the necessity of performing standard microvascular surgery. The flap may be a good alternative for repairing fingertip defects in selected cases.