Management of Fingertip Injuries: A Survey of Opinions of Surgeons Worldwide

Abstract

Abstract Introduction Fingertip injuries are common injuries in all ages. There is currently no consensus nor evidence to support the use of any one treatment, with numerous options available for management. The aim is to review the consensus for treatment of fingertip injuries among surgeons worldwide. Materials and Methods Nonprobability judgment sampling using purposive method was performed on surgeons (n = 65) using two digital platforms of the community of practice of hand surgeons. Three illustrative case scenarios were presented to the participants to understand their consensus on treating fingertip injuries, and their choice of treatment for themselves with a similar injury. Results This survey demonstrates that there is a wide range of treatment preferences for fingertip injuries for each clinical scenario. In Allen 1 and in crush injuries, most respondents favored healing by secondary intention (66.2 and 92.3%, respectively). In Allen 3 injuries, 72.3% favored surgical intervention. In all clinical scenarios, most surgeons would want their own fingertip injuries treated identically to how they would treat patients with similar fingertip injuries (93.9, 96.9, and 95.4%, respectively). Furthermore, our study demonstrated experience in surgery was not associated with treatment preferences. Conclusion Management of fingertip injuries remains controversial, but this study is suggestive that treatment preferences may not be determinant on patient factors, given that all of our respondents are highly functioning individuals who practice microsurgery, but most chose to administer the same treatment to patients as they would to themselves.