Sixteen proper digital nerves in 14 patients who underwent nerve repair surgery using autologous nerve grafts between July 2012 and September 2017 were investigated retrospectively. For the autologous nerve graft, the posterior interosseous nerve was used in 4 cases, the lateral antebrachial cutaneous nerve in 4, the medial antebrachial cutaneous nerve in 1 and the sural nerve in 7. The mean distance from the fingertip to the nerve repair site was 68.1 mm, and the mean length of the nerve graft was 23.4 mm. After a mean 20.5 months (6-56 months) of follow-up, 4 nerves were red, 9 were purple and 3 were blue on the Semmes-Weinstein test, and the mean static 2PD and moving 2PD were 11.0 mm and 9.2 mm, respectively. On statistical analysis, there was a strong correlation between the duration from injury to operation and both 2PD values (p<0.01), a moderate correlation between the length of the nerve graft and static 2PD (p<0.05), and a moderate correlation between the distance from the fingertip to the nerve repair site and static 2PD (p<0.05). For a good postoperative outcome, shorter and earlier nerve graft reconstruction was performed, which improved sensory recovery.
