The biomechanical properties of the hook plate and pull-out suture in mallet finger fractures: a cadaveric study

Abstract

A total of 32 cadaveric fingers with bony mallet injuries were fixed using either the hook plate or the pull-out suture technique. The purpose of this study was to assess the immediate postoperative biomechanical responses of the fixation techniques under different load conditions. The fingers were cyclically loaded with a force of 7 N for 3500 cycles and until construct failure. The maximum displacements of the hook plate and pull-out sutures were 0.7 mm and 0.6 mm, respectively ( p = 0.556). The stiffnesses of the hook plate and pull-out suture were 1.3 N/mm and 1.1 N/mm, respectively ( p = 0.515). The ultimate loads-to-failure for the hook plate and pull-out suture were 64.4 N (interquartile range [IQR] 37.7–77.7) and 44.5 N (IQR 29.7–63.5), respectively ( p = 0.094). Both fixation techniques were able to withstand immediate postoperative mobilization without any difference in fracture displacement, construct stiffness or maximum load to failure.