Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2019 Feb 26;14(1):65.
doi: 10.1186/s13018-019-1106-0.

Scar overlapping suture for treating chronic tendinous mallet finger in children

Lei Zhang  1   2 , Yu-Ming Zuo  2 , Yong-Xin Huo  2 , Guo-Qiang Wang  2 , Liu Zhang  3   4
Affiliations

Scar overlapping suture for treating chronic tendinous mallet finger in children

Lei Zhang et al. J Orthop Surg Res. .

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the effect of scar overlapping suture for treating chronic tendinous mallet finger deformity in children.

Methods: Six patients younger than 18 years were investigated retrospectively. The active extensor lags of the distal interphalangeal joint (DIPJ) were all more than 40°, and the passive ranges of DIPJ motion were normal. They were all treated surgically by scar overlapping suture technique, featuring careful overlapping suture of the extensor scar and temporary transarticular Kirschner wire fixation of the DIPJ.

Results: Average follow-up was 3.1 years (ranging from 2 to 5 years). All patients made significant improvement in DIPJ activity. Three patients achieved full active DIPJ extension, whereas one patient had a 10° extensor lag and two patients had 5° extensor lags. All patients achieved normal active flexion ranges and full passive motion ranges of DIPJ compared with their uninjured side. There was no bone dysplasia, pain, or deformity recurrence.

Conclusions: Scar overlapping suture for treating chronic tendinous mallet finger in children is safe and effective. According to the Crawford criteria, all patients were graded as excellent.

Keywords: Children; Mallet finger; Tendon repair.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Ethics approval and consent to participate

This study follows verbal consent from Institutional Review Board of Hebei Medical University. As this study has a retrospective design, the need for informed consent was waived by the Institutional Review Board.

Consent for publication

Not applicable

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Schematic diagram for the scar overlapping suture technique. a, H-shaped dorsal incision was used to approach the terminal tendon. b, S-shaped dorsal incision was used to approach the terminal tendon. c, The elongated tendon was exposed. d, Cut off the elongated tendon. e, Overlapping suture was performed to repair the tendon by non-absorb 5–0 Prolene stitches. The DIPJ was fixed 5 degrees hyperextension by Kirschner wire with the diameter of 1.0 mm
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Case 1. A 7.6-year-old boy with a chronic tendinous mallet deformity of the ring finger. a, Appearance of the injured finger. b, The S-shaped incision over the DIPJ extension crease. c, The elongated tendon was sharply cut off. The DIPJ was fixed 5 degrees hyperextension. d, Overlapping suture was performed to repair the tendon. e, Appearance after wound closure
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Case 6. a and b, Photographic view taken at 3.8 years postoperatively, showing the range of DIPJ motion. c and d, Anteroposterior and lateral radiograph of the injured finger showed no bone dysplasia, and distal phalangeal physis was normal
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Alla SR, Deal ND, Dempsey IJ. Current concepts: mallet finger. Hand (N Y) 2014;9(2):138–144. doi: 10.1007/s11552-014-9609-y. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Kreuder A, Pennig D, Boese CK, Eysel P, Oppermann J, Dargel J. Mallet finger: a simulation and analysis of hyperflexion versus hyperextension injuries. Surg Radiol Anat. 2016;38(4):403–407. doi: 10.1007/s00276-015-1577-6. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Leinberry C. Mallet finger injuries. J Hand Surg Am. 2009;34(9):1715–1717. doi: 10.1016/j.jhsa.2009.06.018. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Garberman SF, Diao E, Peimer CA. Mallet finger: results of early versus delayed closed treatment. J Hand Surg Am. 1994;19(5):850–852. doi: 10.1016/0363-5023(94)90200-3. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Patel MR, Desai SS, Bassini-Lipson L. Conservative management of chronic mallet finger. J Hand Surg Am. 1986;11(4):570–573. doi: 10.1016/S0363-5023(86)80202-7. - DOI - PubMed