Syndactyly release with the use of the Pelnac™ artificial dermal substitute without skin grafting

Abstract

We present our results of one-stage resurfacing following syndactyly release with the Pelnac™ artificial dermal substitute. From 2016 to 2020, raw areas after digit release were restored with an artificial dermal substitute in 145 webs from 62 patients (average age, 33.1 months) including 65 simple incomplete web spaces, 29 simple complete web spaces, 20 complex complete web spaces, and 31 complex complicated web spaces. Fourteen patients were syndromic. The average follow-up period was 33.4 months (range, 7-55 months). Postoperative outcomes assessed as according to the Vancouver scar scale (0-14) averaged 1.8 (range, 0-11) and web creep score (0-5) averaged 0.7 (range, 0-4). Patient- and family-provided visual analog scale scores averaged 1.1 (range, 0-10) for appearance. In conclusion, the Pelnac™ artificial dermal substitute is a minimally invasive, simple, and effective option for one-stage resurfacing of defects in syndactyly release.

Keywords: Artificial dermal substitute; Congenital syndactyly; One-stage; Syndactyly release; Without skin graft.