Hand wounds: An analysis of topography and related damage to underlying structures

• Published in: Injury 2022-12, Vol.53 (12), p.4048-4053
• Main Authors: Castel, Louis-Charles, Hurst, Simon A., Masmejean, Emmanuel, Gregory, Thomas M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Epidemiology; Hand; Heat map; Nerve; Tendon; Topography; Wound
• ISSN: 0020-1383; 1879-0267
• DOI: 10.1016/j.injury.2022.10.022

•Hand wounds are very common and represent a major public health issue•The digits represent 71% of wounds with the Index finger accounting for 1/5th of all injuries•Palmar zones are the most affected but dorsal wounds have a higher association with injury to underlying structures•Areas with more than 50% of lesions are palmar zone 5 and dorsal zones 1, 3, 5, 6, and 7.•Dorsal wounds overlying joints had more lesions with zone 3 presenting a rate of 68% Hand wounds account for 35 to 51% of hand traumas. Damage to underlying anatomical structures depends on the location of the wound. The objective of this study is to describe the topographic distribution of hand wounds allowing for subsequent evaluation of the link between affected surface area and underlying lesion. We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 1058 patients with a total of 1319 wounds over a period of 2 years. Wound location was described according to the cutaneous projection of IFSSH zones for flexors and extensors. Any associated deep lesions were evaluated. Topographical distribution was modeled graphically using a heat-map. We compared the proportion of underlying lesions between each cutaneous zone. Sub-group analysis for lesions’ rate regarding zone groups were performed. 58.9% of wounds were located on the palmar surface and 41.1% on the dorsal surface. 71% of wounds affected only the digits. The index finger was the most affected. The most damaged region was zone 2 for palmar wounds and zone 3 for dorsal wounds. 45.5% of wounds resulted in injury to a significant underlying anatomical structure. This frequency was 36.4% and 58.5% for palmar and dorsal wounds respectively. More than 50% of wounds in palmar zone 5 and dorsal zones 1, 3, 5, 6 and 7 presented at least one lesion. A lesion of major structure was more frequently found in palmar zone 5 (p