Repair of injuries to soft tissues of fingers, primary and secondary reconstruction.

Preservation of maximum function and appearance of the finger can best be attained by wide excision of crushed or traumatized tissue and closure of defects by primary split thickness skin grafts. Primary pedicle flaps are rarely indicated and should be reserved for cover of denuded cortical bone or joint surfaces. In only 1 per cent of fresh injuries were primary pedicle flaps used. Finger length, nail bed and root, bone and tendon can be adequately preserved with minimal morbidity by split thickness skin grafts. Restoration of contour if necessary is best done secondarily, utilizing thenar or hypothenar flaps. These flaps are particularly indicated in the reconstruction of finger tips.