Soft tissue coverage for the upper extremity.

Soft tissue coverage of the upper extremity continues to be a challenging and evolving field. The expeditious and reliable methods of soft tissue coverage currently in use are discussed with reference to their shortcomings and advantages. For soft tissue coverage of fingertip injuries, open treatment or local flaps from the hand remain the mainstay of treatment. For dorsal and volar hand defects, distal axial flaps, such as the groin flap or microvascular tissue transfer, are utilized most commonly. For large defects proximal to the wrist, trunk axial pattern flaps, microvascular transfer, or the radial forearm flap have the greatest utility. Finally, technical points necessary for the success of some of the flaps are discussed.