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
Case Reports
. 2023 Apr;13(4):25-29.
doi: 10.13107/jocr.2023.v13.i04.3602.

Treating Little Finger's Flexor Profundus Tendon Rupture after Percutaneous K-wire Fixation of a Bennet Fracture - A Case Report

Jorge Gomes Lopes  1   2 , Miguel Relvas-Silva  1   2 , Francisco Serdoura  1   2 , António Sousa  1 , Vitor Vidinha  1   2
Affiliations
Case Reports

Treating Little Finger's Flexor Profundus Tendon Rupture after Percutaneous K-wire Fixation of a Bennet Fracture - A Case Report

Jorge Gomes Lopes et al. J Orthop Case Rep. 2023 Apr.

Abstract

Introduction: About 20% of all fractures in the human skeleton involves the hand, affecting primarily the young and active population. A Bennett's fracture (BF) is a fracture of the base of the first metacarpal and surgical management is generally needed, with the K-wire fixation being the most preferred option. Among the most common complications with K-wires, we find infection and soft-tissues damages like tendon ruptures.

Case report: Here, we report a case of iatrogenic rupture of the Little Finger's Flexor Profundus Tendon after K-wire fixation of a BF that was diagnosed 4 weeks after the lesion. Different surgical strategies were proposed for managing chronic flexor tendon's ruptures; however, no consensus exist around what option would be the best. Here, we describe a flexor transfer from the 5th to the 4th finger that resulted in a great improvement in patient's DASH score and general quality of life.

Conclusion: It is important to remember that percutaneous fixations with K wires in the hand can have disastrous complications, patients should be evaluated for possible tendon ruptures after the surgery, no matter how impossible they may seem, as even unexpected complications can have easier solutions in the acute setting.

Keywords: Bennett’s Fracture; Complications; Tendon Repair; Tendon Transfer; Tendon rupture.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: Nil

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
X-ray on emergency department.
Figure 2
Figure 2
X-ray 8 weeks after Bennett fracture fixation evidence of fracture consolidation.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Passive range of motion, intraoperatively (a) Medial-lateral view (b) Anteroposterior view.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Pulvertaft technique for tendon transfer of flexor digitorum profundus of little finger to flexor digitorum profundus of the fourth finger with a tension similar to the native tendon.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Range of motion 12 weeks after end-to-side little finger’s tendon transfer. (a) Anteroposterior view; (b) Medial-lateral view.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Varitimidis S, Dailiana Z, Agorastakis D, Fyllos A, Zibis A, Hantes M, et al. Long-term functional results of intra-and extra-articular hand fractures treatment with titanium miniature plates and screws with minimum follow-up of 24 months. Cureus. 2021;13:e15438. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Yin Y, Wang Y, Wang Z, Qu W, Tian W, Chen S. Accuracy of fluoroscopic examination in the treatment of Bennett's fracture. BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2021;22:3. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Levy V, Mazzola M, Gonzalez M. Intra-articular fracture of the base of the first metacarpal bone:Treatment through a volar approach. Hand (N Y) 2018;13:90–4. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Subramanian P, Kantharuban S, Shilston S, Pearce OJ. Complications of Kirschner-wire fixation in distal radius fractures. Tech Hand Up Extrem Surg. 2012;16:120–3. - PubMed
    1. Kirmani SJ, Bhuva S, Lo W, Kumar A. Extensor tendon injury to the index and middle finger secondary to Kirschner wire insertion for a distal radial fracture. Ann R Coll Surg Engl. 2008;90:W14–6. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources