Surgical Versus Conservative Treatment of Acute Mallet Fingers; a Randomised Controlled Trial

Status

Withdrawn

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT01016197

Enrollment

Registered

2009-11-19

Start date

2010-01-31

Completion date

2011-06-30

Last updated

2016-09-27

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Finger Injury

Keywords

Soft tissue mallet finger

Brief summary

The investigators are investigating if surgical treatment of injuries to the tendon which straightens the finger tip gives a better functional outcome than treatment with a splint while the tendon heals.

Detailed description

The investigators will randomise patients to receive splinting of their finger while their tendon heals or have surgical intervention. Surgical intervention will entail fixing the tendon with bone anchors and splinting. Conservative treament involves splinting while the tendon heals. We will then monitor the functional outcome of the hand using the DASH questionare over 18 months.

Interventions

PROCEDUREextensor tendon repair

Surgical repair of extensor tendon with bone anchor and splinting

PROCEDUREMallet splint for 4 weeks

The patient will wear a mallet splint for fours weeks and then mobilise their finger.

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

16 Years to No maximum

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

* soft tissue mallet finger * acute injury

Exclusion criteria

* ASA 3 or above * Unable to give informed consent * Infection in digit affected

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
DASH score	up to 18 months

Secondary

Measure	Time frame
Range of movement at distal interphalyngeal joint.	3, 6, 12 and 18 months

Countries

United Kingdom

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026