Introduction: Regardless of the good outcomes of conservatively treated fingertip injuries, many patients complain about volume defects and hypoesthesia. Injection of autologous fat into the defect zone may resolve the volume problem and stimulate digital nerve regeneration by adipose derived stem cell transplantation.
Methods: We analyzed 5 volume defects resulting from conservatively treated fingertip injuries in 4 patients (male to female ratio, 2:2), 6 months after the injection of autologous abdominal fat into the defect zone retrospectively. The fat transplantation was performed after complete wound healing was achieved (2.5-13.5 months; mean, 6.5 months). Assessment of 2-point discrimination; finger pulp circumference; the Disability of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand score; visual analog scale score; and a questionnaire regarding the treatment satisfaction were carried out both preoperatively and at a 6 month follow-up according to the standard of our clinic.
Results: In 3 patients, one session of lipofilling was sufficient to correct the contour, whereas 1 patient with 2 fingertip injuries was treated a second time. There was no significant change in finger pulp circumference, in the 2-point discrimination values and the Disability of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand score results. There was a significant improvement in the visual analog scale scores in 4 of 5 cases, and all patients were very satisfied with the results of the procedure regarding the improvement in hand function in sports, at work and their daily routine.
Conclusions: Lipofilling can be performed with little operative risks, might alleviate the patient's symptoms and reduce pain after conservative treatment of fingertip injuries.