Treatment of Soft Tissue Loss With Nerve Defect in the Finger Using the Boomerang Nerve Flap

Status

Completed

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT01629602

Enrollment

Registered

2012-06-27

Start date

2008-07-31

Completion date

2011-06-30

Last updated

2012-06-27

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

Conditions

Soft Tissue Loss With Nerve Defect

Keywords

defect;, dorsal branch of the proper digital nerve;, proper digital nerve;, vascularized nerve graft

Brief summary

Soft tissue loss with proper digital nerve (PDN) defect in the finger results in sensory loss of the finger pulp. Reconstruction of these complex soft tissue defects continues to be a challenge problem. To resolve this problem, we combined the nerve branch with the boomerang flap for simultaneous repair of soft tissue loss and PDN defect in these awkward areas. For comparison, we also collected a consecutive series of 32 patients with similar injury in the finger treated using a cross finger flap and a secondary free nerve graft.

Detailed description

The patients in this study group were required to meet all of the following criteria: soft tissue loss between the midpoint of the distal phalanx and PIP joint; associated PDN defect 1 to 4 cm in length; single or double PDN defects; and simultaneous repair of soft tissue loss and PDN defect. Patients were excluded when they had the following: injury to the course of the vascular pedicle or the donor site or the donor nerve; PDN defect less than 1 cm or larger than 4 cm in length; direct PDN repair; and thumb neurocutaneous defects.

Interventions

PROCEDUREthe Boomerang Nerve Flap

The nerve branch was combined with the boomerang flap for simultaneous repair of soft tissue loss and PDN defect in these awkward areas.

Study design

Allocation

Intervention model

SINGLE_GROUP

Primary purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

16 Years to 50 Years

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

* soft tissue loss between the midpoint of the distal phalanx and PIP joint; - associated PDN defect 1 to 4 cm in length; * single or double PDN defects; * simultaneous repair of soft tissue loss and PDN defect.

Exclusion criteria

* injury to the course of the vascular pedicle or the donor nerve; * PDN defect less than 1 cm or larger than 4 cm in length; * direct PDN repair; * thumb neurocutaneous defects.

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
static 2-point discrimination test	from 18 to 24 months	The test points were at the centers of the radial and ulnar portions of the finger pulp, the flap and the donor sites separately.

Secondary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Cold Intolerance Severity Score (CISS) questionnaire	from 18 to 24 months	The maximum score was 100 and was grouped into mild (0-25), moderate (26-50), severe (51-75) and extreme severity (76-100).

Outcome results

None listed

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