Anatomical variations of blood supply to the island flap in modified Bilhaut-Cloquet procedure for thumb duplication.

Kong, Chao; Liu, Jianyi; Zhang, Can; Zhang, Jiaping; Tian, Xiaofei · J Hand Surg Eur Vol · 2026

case_series · Level IV

Where this comes from

Abstract

The aim of this study was to report the anatomical variations in the blood supply to the island flap harvested from the radial thumb in modified Bilhaut-Cloquet procedure for thumb duplication. A total of 190 patients with Wassel type II-IV thumb duplication underwent the modified Bilhaut-Cloquet procedure. The blood supply to the flap was assessed and anatomical patterns were recorded based on the relative calibres of the proper digital artery and communicating branches. Three types of blood supply were identified: fine communicating branch type (<i>n</i> = 134), equal calibre type (<i>n</i> = 43) and coarse communicating branch type (<i>n</i> = 16). The coarse communicating branch type exhibited the lowest success rate, while the fine communicating branch type achieved a 100% success rate. The blood supply patterns to the island flap is crucial for improving surgical outcomes and reducing complications in thumb duplication correction. IV.