(a) The distance between the thumb and the little finger was 10 cm. (b) He is able to hold and throw a ball comfortably as well as (c) hold a pen.
Four months after transplantation of the little finger, toe to thumb transplantation was performed.5 (Figs 3a-3c). The maximum distance between the thumb and the little finger is 10 cm. Case 2 A 29-year-old man suffered an injury to his right hand after it was caught in a printing machine. The index finger was amputated at the distal interphalangeal (DIP) joint, and the skin was avulsed distal to the MP junction. The subdermal tissue of the amputated index finger was severely damaged. As immediate replantation seemed too hazardous, we opted for temporary ectopic implantation of the amputated part. The digital artery (diameter: 0.6 mm) was directly anastomosed to the right deep inferior epigastric artery perforator (DIEP/diameter: 0.8 mm) at the level of the DIP joint (Figs 4a and 4b). The digital nerve was marked with 6-0 nylon. The avulsed skin of the index finger was grafted onto the abdominal fat layer like a skin graft. The exposed bone and tendon of the proximal part of the index finger were covered with a pedicled DIEP flap. A month later, the chimeric DIEP flap with the index finger was harvested from the abdominal wall. The deep inferior epigastric artery and vein were anastomosed to the radial artery and the subdermal vein located in the snuff box.