title: Reverse digital artery island flap in the elderly.
abstract: The following case report illustrates the successful use of the reverse digital artery island flap in elderly patients. The reverse digital artery island flap is a recognised method of providing good quality soft tissue cover to the amputated fingertip. First described in 1986 by Kojima, Lai and Han have reported their experience of 52 and 120 of these flaps, respectively. The majority of patients in the literature are less than 50 years old, with ages ranging from 3 to 62 years. The flap is based upon reversed flow in the digital artery via a communicating branch from the contralateral artery at a point 5mm proximal to the distal interphalangeal joint crease. In the two cases reported below, we have shown that the indications for this type of homodigital flap reconstruction for fingertip amputations can be safely extended to elderly patients.
authors.affiliation: Blond McIndoe Centre, Royal Free and University College Medical School, University Department of Surgery, Royal Free Campus, Rowland Hill Street, London NW3 2PF, UK. a.wilson@rfc.ucl.ac.uk
authors.forename: Andrew D H
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Stone
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000673:Amputation, Traumatic / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D005383:Finger Injuries / Q000601:surgery*; D005385:Fingers / Q000098:blood supply; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012039:Regional Blood Flow; D013524:Surgical Flaps / Q000098:blood supply*