Listen, no one wants to lose a finger, but it happens more often than you think. And when this is the case, the stakes are naturally high, because the fingers and thumbs are essential for almost all the tasks that we do. This is why replacing them (when the amputation is inevitable) is such a priority.
While prostheses or attempts to attach the lost figure are typical first -line solutions, surgeons are increasingly turning to an unlikely substitute that has been with us from the start: our toes.
A new study published in Plastic and reconstructive surgery Compared the long -term results of toe transfer surgery to traditional figures. The results? Patients who received a transplanted toe found a better overall function of the hand than those whose original finger has been questioned, which calls into question the long -standing hypotheses in emergency medicine.
Rebuild the fingers with toes
The amputations of the finger and thumb are surprisingly common, with around 45,000 cases in the United States each year. For many, the result is not only cosmetic, it can lead to a lasting handicap, especially when the thumb is lost.
In urgent situations, surgeons often try to replant the cut finger. But it is not always possible, and even when it succeeds, the results can be limited. Ortility transfer surgery, where a patient’s toe is used to rebuild a missing finger or thumb, offers a viable alternative that takes a foothold.
Although this is not a new technique, the transfers of the toes have not been widely studied using measures validated for the manual function or the satisfaction of the patient. This lack of data has indicated that there are no formal guidelines to help clinicians decide when a toe could be the best option on replanting.
Learn more: The first proof of amputation is 31,000 years
Best manual function with toes
To fill this gap, two doctors followed 75 patients who underwent 126 toe transfers to the canniesburn plastic surgery in Glasgow, Scotland. Their results were compared to 96 replanting surgeries in 52 other patients, all evaluated five years or more after the operation.
The difference was striking: patients who received toe transfers showed a significantly better manual function than those of the replanting group. In fact, their improvement was three times higher than what experts consider a significant clinical difference.
The study examined key functional measures such as the amplitude of movements, the capacity to carry out a pinch of tripod (holding a pencil) and nerve sensitivity. Overall, the patients transferred toes have come out. Their overall quality of life linked to physical health has also obtained a higher score.
And what about the foot that abandons the toe? Surprisingly, the function of the feet remained equally with the general population.
Rethink the gold stallion
“Our study provides the first proof that toe transfer surgery offers better long-term manual function compared to the attempted replanting of the amputated fingers,” said Fu-Chan Wei, one of the doctors involved in the study, in a press release. “The results question the current approaches to emergency replanting surgery after digital amputations.”
They believe that these results question the hypothesis that emergency replanting is always the best option and suggests that toe transfers are considered a viable alternative.
“These data provide the first proof of the potential functional superiority of toe transfers on replanting in digital amputation”, added Wei and the co-author Steven Lo, calling it “one of the largest sets of validated toe transfers to date.”
Beyond the operating room, they argue that this approach could reshape national health strategies, helping to reduce the burden of one of the most disabling injuries in the world.
This article does not offer medical advice and should be used for information purposes only.
