A Paradigm Shift in Managing Acute and Chronic Boutonniere Deformity: Anatomic Rationale and Early Clinical Results for the Relative Motion Concept Permitting Immediate Active Motion and Hand Use.

CONCLUSIONS: Relative motion flexion splinting affords early active motion and hand use with excellent range of motion achieved following acute open boutonniere repair or closed boutonniere rupture with less morbidity than conventional management. Chronic boutonniere deformity will respond to relative motion flexion splinting if serial casting can place the proximal interphalangeal joint in less than -20° extension, and the patient actively uses the hand in a relative motion flexion orthosis for 3 months, recovering flexion. No further therapy was needed in our cases. We believe this management technique should be attempted for chronic boutonniere deformity as a preferable alternative to surgery, which remains an option if needed. PMID: 32028337 [PubMed - in process]
Source: Hand Surgery - Category: Surgery Authors: Tags: Ann Plast Surg Source Type: research