Reverse dorsal digital and metacarpal flaps: a review of 27 cases

Reverse dorsal digital and metacarpal flaps use the dorsal skin of the digital or metacarpal areas, and they are based on the arterial branches anastomosing the volar and dorsal arterial networks of the fingers. These flaps are transposed as reverse island flaps. Dissection of the flap is easy, fast, and preserves the collateral nerve and artery to the fingertip. A series of 27 flaps is reviewed, with more than 6 months of follow-up. Skin defects in all patients were located over or beyond the proximal interphalangeal joint as far as the fingertip and were combined with bone, joint, or tendon exposure. The flaps we used were reliable, and a joint or extensor tendon reconstruction could be performed at the same time. Patients were discharged the day after surgery and allowed to mobilize the finger early. No flap necrosis was observed, and donor site morbidity was minimal; primary closure or a skin graft was used in all patients. These flaps combine the advantages of an extended skin paddle and a versatile pivot point on the phalanx, and they allow coverage of wide and distal defects. When conventional local flaps are inadequate, this fast and simple procedure should be considered for its reliability and low associated morbidity.