Vascular blood supply of the dorsal side of the thumb, first web and index finger: anatomical study.

Twenty-nine hands were dissected in order to define the dorsal blood supply of the thumb, the first web and the index finger. The main objective was to determine if it is possible to create a local osteocutaneous flap to cover partial and complex tissue defects in the distal part of the thumb. We found that the thumb metacarpal could be used as a donor site in these situations, with either a radiodorsal pedicle or an ulnadorsal pedicle.