The term ‘superdigit’ is utilized in congenital hand surgery to describe a digit that is larger than we expect. It is often related to the fusion of two digits into one and may be seen in cleft hand and central polysyndactyly among other conditions. We also see large digits in other conditions such as Macrodactyly. […]
Month: March 2015
Names Matter: Radial Polydactyly vs Duplicated thumb
There are a number of terms for describing the patient with two thumbs including, ‘duplicated thumb’, ‘extra thumb’, ‘radial polydactyly’, and ‘split thumb’. While the particular term may not seem to matter, it does have important implications. ‘Radial polydactyly’ is a medical term describing the location and anomaly- it is not controversial. ‘Split thumb’ may […]
Ulnar Deficiency- Thumb Rotation
I have posted a number of times about both ulnar longitudinal deficiency and thumb anomalies. As previously noted, in ulnar longitudinal deficiency, we more commonly offer surgery for the hand compared to the forearm. The forearm rotation abnormality is usually something that kids can adapt to as the shoulder offers so much compensatory motion. The hand is, […]
Syndactyly Outcomes and Challenges
Most children treated for syndactyly have an excellent outcome with normal finger motion and good maintenance of the reconstructed web space. However, there are times with the ideal outcome does not happen. A less than perfect outcome includes challenges like: prominent scarring, an inability to spread the fingers as widely as […]