Abstract

ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND:
Full-thickness skin grafts are generally considered unreliable for coverage of full-thickness finger
defects with exposed tendons, but there are some clinical reports of its use in this context. In this
study, covering the exposed tendon with FTSG with de-epithelialization of wound edges was
chosen.
OBJECTIVE:
To evaluate the reliability of FTSG survival on an exposed tendon in full thickness finger defects.
PATIENTS AND METHODS:
From January 2017 to May 2018, nine patients (5 males, 4 females), with tendon-exposed defects of
12 fingers managed with FTSGs.This included marginal de-epithelialization of the normal skin
surrounding the defect, and preservation of the subdermal plexus of the central graft, and partial
excision of the dermis along the graft margin. The donor site was from mastoid, wrist or groin
region.
RESULTS:
Most of grafts (10 of 12 fingers) survived without significant surgical complications and achieved
satisfactory functional and aesthetic results.
CONCLUSION:
In this study graft survival was good, with no additional surgical injury of the normal fingers, and
satisfactory functional and aesthetic outcomes. However, few disadvantages like depression and
graft hyperpigmentation were recorded. Therefore, FTSG is an option for treatment of full-thickness
finger defects with the exposed tendon.