Pull-out suture technique and micro-bone anchor fixation: A comparison of two methods in the treatment of nonosseous mallet finger injuries

Objective: Mallet finger is a flexion deformity that results from injury to the extensor mechanism at the base of the distal phalanx. It can involve either a bony avulsion injury of the distal phalanx or a rupture of the extensor tendon with no bony involvement.

The aim of this study was to compared the surgical and clinical outcomes of patients who underwent the pull-out suture technique versus micro-bone anchor fixation of non-osseous mallet finger.

Method: A retrospective analysis of 56 patients between 2011 and 2016 was conducted. Patients were separated into two groups according to surgical technique, Group 1 (pull-out suture technique ) including 23 patients and Group 2 (micro-bone anchor fixation ) including 33 patients. The Quick Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (Q-DASH) score, pain catastrophizing scale (PCS), visual analogue scale (VAS) pain score, and time to return to work were assessed. The Crawford’s criteria was used to evaluate the functional results.

Results: No significant difference was observed in Crawford classification and pain score between the groups , whereas the Q-DASH score and the time to return to daily activities were significantly different in the micro-bone anchor fixation group.

Conclusions: Both techniques are effective operative treatment options for non-osseous mallet finger. However, compared with the pull-out suture technique, micro-bone anchor fixation provides better results in terms of some clinical parameters.