A novel use of a lacerated finger pulp flap for better healing

Muhammed Mukhtar

doi:10.25259/CSDM_234_2025

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Innovations

2026

:6;

51

doi:

10.25259/CSDM_234_2025

A novel use of a lacerated finger pulp flap for better healing

Muhammed Mukhtar¹

1Department of Dermatology, Mukhtar Skin Centre, Katihar Medical College Road, Katihar, Bihar, India.

*Corresponding author: Muhammed Mukhtar, Department of Dermatology, Mukhtar Skin Centre, Katihar Medical College Road, Katihar, Bihar, India. drmmukhtar20@gmail.com

Received: 2025-12-14, Accepted: 2026-04-10, Published: 2026-05-14

Licence

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-Share Alike 4.0 License, which allows others to remix, transform, and build upon the work non-commercially, as long as the author is credited and the new creations are licensed under the identical terms.

How to cite this article: Mukhtar M. A novel use of lacerated finger pulp flap for better healing. CosmoDerma. 2026;6:51. doi: 10.25259/CSDM_234_2025

PROBLEM

Finger pulp lacerations are frequently sustained in daily practice, which might result in granuloma pyogenicum and protracted recovery.^[1,2] Furthermore, even with appropriate care, the fingerprints may become distorted during subsequent healing of the lacerated pulp. Here, we applied a finger pulp flap to promote improved healing for the wounded finger.

SOLUTION

One of our patients had a severely cut finger pulp injury of the right middle finger from the shattered glass, and there was a lot of bleeding. A thin pedicle connected the cut tissue to the finger [Figure 1a]. The flap is adjusted over the damaged pulp to stop the bleeding [Figure 1b]. After that, a glove finger is applied as a pressure bandage to the wounded finger. Following this, topical antibiotics and moisturizer are applied to the affected area 3–4 times/day. The lesions healed after 2–3 weeks [Figure 1c]. Within 2–3 months, the linear scar is remodified, and fingerprints, tenderness, and numbness are restored almost to normal [Figures 2 and 3]. Thus, repositioning the lacerated finger flap and applying a pressure cum occlusive dressing with gloves on the finger is a promising alternative for improving the result of finger pulp damage. As a result, the lacerated finger flap, which is well-vascularized tissue, should not be removed to repair the soft tissue defect in the finger pulp.

(a) Lacerated flap repositioned over the injured tissue of the finger, (b) the finger is dressed with finger gloves, (c) the wound is healed.

The lacerated finger pulp healed with almost a normal fingerprint.

The fingerprint of the healed lacerated middle finger.

Ethical approval:

Institutional Review Board approval is not required.

Declaration of patient consent:

The authors certify that they have obtained all appropriate patient consent forms. In the form, the patient has given consent for their images and other clinical information to be reported in the journal. The patient understands that the patient’s names and initials will not be published and due efforts will be made to conceal their identity, but anonymity cannot be guaranteed.

Conflicts of interest:

There are no conflicts of interest.

Use of artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted technology for manuscript preparation:

The authors confirm that there was no use of artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted technology for assisting in the writing or editing of the manuscript and no images were manipulated using AI.

Financial support and sponsorship: Nil.

References

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