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This
patient suffered an amputation of the
long long finger from a saw
injury. Closing the amputation
would have necessitated shortening the
bone and resulted in a short long
finger. This can cause loss of
function, strength and difficulty
manipulating objects in the hand.The
dorsal view reveals the part to be in
relatively good condition, with no
evidence of multi-level damage or
avulsion.
 Radiographs
of the hand show a clean injury just
distal to the proximal interphalangeal
joint.
 A
radiograph of the amputated part shows
that the bone injury appears confined to
a single level and there is no other
distal fracture or distal
interphalangeal joint injury.
 In
order to have early joint motion and to
leave the pip joint free, the bone
fixation was performed with a dorsal
plate. Early motion minimizes joint
stiffness and can improve outcome.
Post-operatively
(below) the patient has excellent range
of motion and excellent sensation.
There is some stiffness in the DIP
joint, but the majority of useful finger
flexion is a result of PIP and MP joint
motion.
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