Lesions of peripherial structures of cadaver fingers caused by Kirschner wires

Fractures of the hand sceleton a re common injuries. These are or are associated with phalangeal fractures. Kirschner wires can be used for osteosynthesis, but can cause lesions of periphereal finger structures. The aim of our study was to record the incidence of lesions in peripherial structures of the fingers caused by retrograde crossed inserted Kirschner wires of 1.0, 1.25, 1.4 and 1.6 mm diameter into the middle and proximal phalanges of the long fingers and the proximal phalanx of the thumb of 120 fresh cadaver hands. We found an increase of insertion attempt frequency and an increasing number of lesions with increasing Kirschner wire diameter. Because of these findings Kirschner wires of 1.0 or 1.25 mm diameter should be prefered to prevent the periphereal functional finger structures.