The Role of Ultrasound in Flexor Tendon Injuries of the Hand

Abstract

he hand and wrist are important functional parts of the body in daily life activities and are frequently prone to traumatic injuries. They constitute 28 % of all musculoskeletal injuries and account for 14 % to 30 % of all treated patients in the emergency department (Schöffl et al., 2012). Assessment of hand injury in the Emergency Department is usually a hard complex procedure where routine clinical examination can commonly overlook tendon injuries due to multiple causes (Karabay, 2012). In addition, limitation of movement might be absent at the time of the initial presentation or even exaggerated by pain, hematomas or deformities (Al-Hourani et al., 2018). The consequences of misdiagnosis or a missed tendon injury can be devastating for the patient, as it can lead to fixed deformities compromising the patient’s ability to perform normal daily activities. Hence, early diagnosis of the injured tissue is important for proper and early clinical management (Lapegue et al., 2015). The pattern of finger injuries is variable, and each injury has its own unique, diagnostic, and treatment considerations (Jacob et al., 2007).