Radial club hand managed with ulnar osteotomy and centralization of hand: a case report and review

<p>Radial club hand also called radial longitudinal deficiency or radial dyspasia is a preaxial longitudinal failure of formation. As the defect is preaxial it is often associated with thumb hypoplasia or anomaly of the radial aspect of the carpus. It is diagnosed clinically and on X-rays. It is frequently syndromic so it is a must to look for associated congenital anomalies by doing a through clinical examination. The frequency of this anomaly is between 1:50000 to 1:100000 live births. The incidence of all radial ray-deficient limbs, including hypoplastic thumbs alone, is approximately 1:30000. The radial deficiency is bilateral in 50% of the cases and the male:female is 3:2. It includes a wide spectrum of disorders that encompass an absent thumb or thumb hypoplasia, a thin first metacarpal and an absent radius. We report here a 1.5 years old child with isolated type IV radial club hand without any restricted range of motion in elbow managed with osteotomy of ulna and centralization of hand.</p>

Donor Site Evaluation after Full-Width Metatarsal Transfer for Metacarpal Reconstruction in Severe Thumb Hypoplasia: A Clinical Retrospective Study

Background: Pollicization remains the default treatment for severe thumb hypoplasia, while the metatarsal transfer is an effective choice for metacarpal reconstruction, with competitive outcome of reconstructed thumb. However, rare researches focused on the outcome of donor foot of the metatarsal transfer. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the short-term outcome of donor foot after full-width metatarsal transfer for Manske Type IIIB and IV thumb hypoplasia.Methods: Fourteen patients with Manske Type IIIB and IV thumb hypoplasia were enrolled in the study. A full-width metatarsal graft (vascularised, from the second metatarsal or non-vascularised, from the fourth metatarsal) was harvested; an adjacent half-width graft from the third metatarsal was transposed horizontally to replace the donor defect. Objective and subjective evaluations were performed at least 12 months postoperatively. The appearances of the toes and the radiographic findings of the metatarsals were evaluated by two authors, the length and width of the metatarsals were measured on digital anteroposterior radiographs using a paired sample t test. The parental satisfaction was evaluated using a self-administered questionnaire. Results: Among these 14 patients (eight type ⅢB and six type Ⅳ thumbs), there were ten male and four female patients. The mean age at operation was 34.2 months (range: 14 to 127 months), and the mean follow-up was 16.1 months (range: 12 to 30 months). Toe lengthening, toe overriding, and synostosis between the metatarsals were observed in two, two and two patients; toe shortening, toe deviation, metatarsal lengthening and metatarsal angulation were observed in one, one, one and one patient. The lengths of third and fourth metatarsals in donor site were significantly larger than those in contralateral side, while the widths of third and fourth metatarsals were not significantly different between donor and contralateral sides. The mean score in the parental satisfaction questionnaire (full score, 30) was 27.2, (range: 17 to 30), which rated as “good”. Conclusions: Following full-width metatarsal transfer for Type IIIB and IV thumb hypoplasia, transposition of the adjacent half-width metatarsal for donor reconstruction results in minor donor deficit and overall parenteral satisfaction. Level of evidence: Ⅳ

A detailed analysis of long-term outcomes following reconstruction for congenital thumb hypoplasia

This retrospective study analyses long-term outcomes of reconstruction for congenital thumb hypoplasia Grades 2 and 3 A. In 22 thumbs (mean follow-up 9 years), instability of the metacarpophalangeal joint was found in 20 thumbs regardless of the method of reconstruction, double breasting of local tissue with or without adductor pollicis advancement or use of a slip of flexor digitorum superficialis to supplement local tissue. There was a trend towards a greater global strength, higher Kapandji score and better subjective function score when the abductor digiti minimi was used as an opposition transfer as compared with the flexor digitorum superficialis. Results for motion and subjective parameters were consistent with comparable studies though these comparisons are compromised by different methods of classification and assessment. Consistent application of an expanded Blauth grading system and a formal hypoplastic thumb score will improve the ability to compare pre- and postoperative status, different techniques and results from different centres. Level of evidence: IV