Osseointegrated finger prostheses.

Abstract

Amputation of a digit can lead to functional and psychological problems and patients can benefit from digital prostheses. Unfortunately, standard prostheses are often unstable, particularly when fitted over short amputation stumps. Prosthesis fixation by osseointegration is widely used in oral and extraoral applications and may help avoid the problem of instability. This paper reports the results of four patients with five finger amputations who were treated with osseointegrated implants to attach finger prostheses. One implant failed to osseointegrate and the procedure was abandoned. Three patients were successfully treated to completion of three finger prostheses and are extremely satisfied with their outcomes, both cosmetically and functionally, with osseoperception reported by all three patients.