ABSTRACT
A review of replanted digits has indicated that excellent sensory function can be
recovered in replants that are distal, in which the mechanism of injury has been a
sharp cut, in which the patient's age is young, and in cases where the patient receives
postoperative sensory re-education. It appears that poor sensory recovery in replanted
digits is most directly attributable to crush or avulsion type injuries and lack of
sensory re-education in the postoperative period. The level of sensory recovery in
toe-to-thumb transfers appears to be better than in the donor toe and better than
in replanted digits. The explanation for this most likely lies in the sharp “mechanism
of injury” in the toe-to-thumb transfer and in the “extra” postoperative rehabilitation
such cases receive. Future improvements in recovery of sensation in replanted digits
may come from increased use of nerve grafting in those digits that have been crushed
or avulsed, and by instituting routine sensory re-education in the postoperative period.
