Commonly Used Instruments, Equipment, and Materials for Finger Reconstruction

Abstract

To repair and reconstruct the appearance and function of a traumatic amputated limb is always the common aspiration of both doctors and patients. But absolutely the simple suture and bone fixation cannot achieve our aim. It came true with the development of microsurgery that solved the problem of the vascular anastomosis to reconstruct circulation until the 1960S.

In early time, Carrell’s three stay sutures end-to-end anastomosis or sleeve insertion is a major method for the repair of vascular which is suitable for large blood vessels and is very difficult for those blood vessels under 1.5 mm. The low recanalization rate and survival rate promote the development of the microscope, microsurgery instruments, microsurgical suture material, new methods of suture, anti-coagulation, etc.

Nylen and Hoimgrem first performed inner ear surgery under microscope in 1921 which developed slowly due to limited space. Barraquer and Pertt performed cornea suture under microscope in 1950 meant new suture stage coming. Microsurgery entered a new stage of development in the 1960s with the development of microsurgical techniques. Jacobson and Suarez sutured animal vessels whose diameters were from 1.6 mm to 3.2 mm under 25 times microscope and the recanalization was 100% of what attached attention of surgeons. After that Lee (1961), Gonzales (1962), and Abbott et al. performed portocaval shunt, kidney transplant, and heart transplant in animals successively. Malt successfully replanted an amputated upper limb for a 12-year-old child in 1962. Zhongwei Chen successfully replanted a completely amputated forearm under the naked eye in 1963. Shuhua Wang and Jiaze Lu completed the first replantation of a rabbit ear in 1964 and successfully replanted a completely amputated finger of a child in the same year. Buncke and Schultz performed a successful toe-to-thumb reconstruction for a monkey in 1965. Dongyue Yang and Jianqiu Tang et al. were the first to perform second-toe-to-thumb reconstruction which was a cooperation with Huashan hospital and Zhongshan hospital in Shanghai on February 13, 1966, and was the beginning of a new era for thumb reconstruction in China.