title: Digital pulp reconstruction with free neurovascular toe flaps.
abstract: Finger pulp defects are commonly encountered in clinical settings and their treatment remains a consistent challenge for plastic and hand surgeons. Reconstruction should restore, as much as possible, the contour of the pulp as well as discriminating sensibility. Following the prime reconstructive principle of replacing "like with like," the free neurovascular toe pulp flap seems to be the optimal choice for digital pulp reconstruction because of the natural similarity of the digital pulp both anatomically and physically. However, after about 30 years of experience with this procedure, it is still controversial because it is technically demanding, involves donor site morbidity, and its reliability is questionable. With other small free flaps available, the application of this flap has been challenged and reconsidered. In this review we specifically focus on the reconstruction of soft tissue defects of digital pulp using the free neurovascular toe flap, aiming to investigate its advantages and drawbacks and obtain a comprehensive understanding of this procedure. The latest reconstruction concerns and technical refinements are also discussed.
  
  
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authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China. yanhede@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Hede
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.forename: Yuanming
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ouyang
authors.forename: Zhenglin
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Chi
authors.forename: Weiyang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Cunyi
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fan
mesh_terms: D005383:Finger Injuries / Q000601:surgery*; D058752:Free Tissue Flaps / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000294:innervation*; D006801:Humans; D019651:Plastic Surgery Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D014034:Toes