[Treatment of hand ischemia with arterialization of the venous system of the hand: report of three cases].

INTRODUCTION: Hand ischemia is a rare phenomenom of various etiologies among which can be found Raynaud's phenomenon and autoimmune arteritis. The limitations of symptomatic medical treatment and the frequent plurisegmental and distal affection of arteries make the management of chronic hand ischemia difficult. The arterialization of the superficial venous system, which consists in redirecting the arterial flow to the fingertip through the dorsal venous system, could be an interesting alternative to the disappointing results of medical therapy and surgical sympathectomy. The authors present here the preliminary results of this technique.

PATIENTS AND METHOD: We carried out a retrospective study analyzing the indications, the operative technique and results of three hands operated on two patients. An arteriography was carried out on each patient prior to perform the arterialization of the superficial venous system, in order to make sure that none of the patients was eligible for a technique of direct re-vascularization.

RESULTS: Postoperatively, for each patient, the following points were evaluated: pain reduction, ulcer healing, and then we tried to obtain a more objective assessment by performing angio-MRI.

CONCLUSION: This last resort technique in management of critical ischemia of the fingers led to an immediate and lasting improvement of symptoms in all the patients treated. This technique seems reliable and reproducible in selected cases aiming to re-vascularize hands that have reached the stage of critical ischemia. This treatment option should be known by hand surgeons, and distributed to internists who usually manage these patients.