Revisiting the Curtis Procedure for Boutonniere Deformity Correction

Boutonnière deformity (BD) is a debilitating deformity where the proximal interphalangeal (PIP) joint of the finger is flexed, and the distal interphalangeal (DIP) joint is hyperextended.1-3 BD is commonly seen after injury and also as a sequela of progressive inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis.1-3 Various techniques have been described to address the imbalance between the extensor and flexor mechanism to correct BD including (i) Salvi repositioned the lateral bands dorsally,4 (ii) Tenotomy of the extensor tendon distal to the triangular ligament was described for chronic BD,4 (iii) Littler and Eaton dissected out the extrinsic and interosseous tendons from the lumbrical and oblique retinacular ligaments and centralized the lateral bands,5 (iv) Stack utilized the superficial flexor tendon to reconstruct the central slip and redistributed the forces across the PIP,6 (v) Matev used the lateral band on one side to reconstruct the central slip, elongating it on the contralateral side to make use of a single lateral band,7 and (vi) Hou et al. described a method of reconstructing the central slip by employing autologous palmaris longus tendon