[Results of the conservative treatment of injuries of the palmar capsule-ligament system of the interphalangeal joints of the long fingers].

Results are presented following conservative treatment of 79 patients for injuries of the palmar plate of the proximal interphalangeal joint. There was in addition, a slight shell-shaped chip in the base of the middle phalanx of 73 patients. These results show that the functional results are influenced by the age of the patient and the length of the immobilization. 36 of 43 (83.7%) patients under 30 years old, who were immobilized for two to three weeks, had very good results. Immobilization for a longer period of time brought very good results for only nine of fifteen (60%) patients. In the group over thirty years, seven out of fifteen (46.7%) patients had very good results with up to three weeks' immobilization. With longer periods of immobilization, only one out of six (16.7%) had a very good result. The authors recommend fourteen days immobilization in a finger cast with the proximal interphalangeal joint at 15 degrees and the metacarpophalangeal joint at 80 degrees of flexion. Operative correction should only be considered in cases with a tendency to sublux.