Abstract:

 Objective   To explore the mechanism of and the anatomical basis for the  unilateral finger artery ligation in treating the distal part of fingers stub without veins.  Methods   Firstly, a total of 50 fingers from 10 fresh hand specimens were selected and were perfused carefully, the specimens were then dissected carefully to observe and to record the number and diameter of arterial branches. Secondly, a model of distal part of finger stubs with unilateral finger artery ligation was established to discuss the mechanism of this treatment.  Results    In the anatomic study, the average number of distal branches was 12.9±2.6, the number of branches from digital artery arch was 4.9±1.1, the mean diameter of branches was (0.31±0.09) mm, indicating that hiatal part of finger did have a rich bloody supply, and a large amount of branches could be found at the end of the arteries of at both sides of the fingers. In the model study, the greater capacity and further distance of the small hole from the needle, the less outflow of the ink from the penicilin bottle. Conclusion   The mechanism of this treatment could be that ligation of one artery of the finger can reduce the organization pressure, and the circulation could be achieved by blood flow back to the branches via arteries during diastole. Combined with the existing literature reports ,it can be speculated that this method is effective for treatment of the distal phalanx in the Ⅰ, Ⅱ and Ⅲ regions.

Key words: Unilateral finger artery ligation, No vein available for anastomosis, Distal finger, Replantation, Experiment study