Mallet Finger: Comparison Between Operative and Conservative Management in Those Cases Failing to be cured by Splintage

Sixty-nine patients with mallet finger who failed to be cured by a period of splintage were offered either tenodermodesis or Kirschner wire fixation of the DIP joint. Eleven (16%) accepted the offer and eight of these were significantly improved. Of those patients declining surgery, 30 were available for review after a minimum period of six months; of these 13 (43%) had undergone a significant spontaneous improvement.