The Psychological Impact of Microvascular Free Toe Transfer for Children and Their Parents

Abstract

This paper is based on a prospective study of microvascular toe transfers which examined psychosocial, functional and aesthetic outcome for children with congenital hand anomalies and their parents. 14 families were assessed both pre-operatively and 2 years post-operatively. There were five boys and nine girls. Their ages ranged from 6 months to 13 years (mean age = 5.08 years). The parents were assessed on the basis of a parental adjustment measure, a detailed semi-structured interview and a measure of anxiety and depression. The children were assessed on the basis of behaviour and social competence, social experience, self-consciousness about the hand and the perceptions of their own functional competence. Both parents and children were asked to rate their satisfaction with the hand. In addition, function and appearance was assessed using an independent professional panel. It was found that parental adjustment to the hand was an important independent variable in determining psychosocial outcome. The children of poorly-adjusted parents had more social and psychological problems prior to surgery, and showed an increase in behavioural problems after surgery. Their parents were less anxious and happier after surgery and it was of particular benefit to them. The children of well-adjusted parents had fewer pre-operative problems and showed a general slight improvement after surgery. For all the children, there was a significant improvement in both function and appearance of the hands after surgery.