Vascular basis of dorsal digital and metacarpal skin flaps.

Abstract

We studied the vascular anatomy of dorsal digital skin flaps and the vascular anastomoses between the dorsal cutaneous branch of the palmar digital artery (PDA) and the dorsal digital branches (the terminal branches) of the dorsal metacarpal artery (DMA) at the level of the proximal phalanx. Eight fresh cadavers (16 hands) were injected with a lead oxide-gelatin mixture. Our radiographic assessment revealed that there were 2 sources of the arterial supply to the dorsum of the digit, the dorsal digital branches of the DMA, and the dorsal cutaneous branches of the PDA. These branches anastomose with each other. A flap including the territory of the dorsal cutaneous branches of the PDA and a part of the territory of the DMA can be harvested on the dorsal aspect of the proximal and middle phalanges. The extended neurovascular island flap, based on the PDA and the dorsal branch of digital nerve, can be transposed to the volar surface of an adjacent finger resurfacing the entire length of the digit.