Analysis of surgical results and of residual postoperative deformities in preaxial polydactyly of the hand.

PURPOSE: Polydactyly is the most common congenital anomaly of the hand. It may occur as a separate event or as part of a syndrome, with preaxial polydactyly of the hand (or thumb duplication) being the most common among Caucasians. The present study analyzed the surgical results and the residual postoperative deformities of patients with thumb duplication. METHODS: Thirty-one patients with duplicated thumbs were surgically treated from January 2002 to April 2008 and 19 of them, who had returned during the late postoperative period, were evaluated. Each case was typed according to Wassel's classification into seven types and the most common category was type IV. Removal of radial component was done in 18 patients aged on average 51 months. RESULTS: Patients and parents were satisfied with both the functional results and the appearance of the reconstructed thumb. In the subjective evaluation of residual deformities, axis deviation and residual prominence were commonly found. There were coherencies in data between both subjective and objective outcomes. The children that had difficulty in holding very small objects in the subjective functional result were the same children with residual deformities in the objective result. Patient's age at surgery and Wassel's type influenced the analysis of residual postoperative deformities. There was statistically significant difference in cases of type VII and in patients operated at more than three years of age. Correlation between type VII and patient's age at time of surgery was found. The children with type VII duplication were operated later. CONCLUSIONS: For a better result, surgical correction should be performed before three years of age, thus correcting all the changes detected, mainly in type VII, in order to reduce the incidence of residual deformity. TYPE OF STUDY/LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic IV.

Coping strategies for activities of daily living in women whose hands affected by systemic sclerosis.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To determine the challenges experienced by women with systemic sclerosis, whose hands affected, while performing activities of daily living and their coping strategies. BACKGROUND: Many of the patients with systemic sclerosis experience difficulties in performing daily activities. One of the most important reasons for that is the impaired hand function due to their diseases. DESIGN: A descriptive cross-sectional design was conducted and questionnaire was used in this study. METHODS: The study was performed in a Rheumatology Department at a tertiary-care hospital in Turkey between April 2010-December 2011. Nineteen patients with systemic sclerosis with hand involvement were enrolled in this study. The data were collected by using both a demographic data form and an Evaluation of Daily Activity Questionnaire. RESULTS: According to Evaluation of Daily Activity Questionnaire, the most scored dimension that patients can do with much difficulty was 'eating' and the dimension that patients unable to do was 'washing/clothes care'. In 'eating' dimension, the most difficult activities were 'opening glass jar', 'opening juice bottle' and 'opening bottle' that requiring the movement of rotation. Their coping strategies for these activities were as follows: try to open with a towel, try to remove the edge of the palm with a knife, use the hand palm and help from someone else (spouse, neighbour, etc.). In 'washing/clothes care' dimension, the most difficult activities were 'turning up hem of a skirt', 'washing up in bowl' and 'cutting out material'. For these activities, they use some coping strategies such as getting help from tailor, washing in the machine instead of hand washing. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that impaired hand function affects the daily life activities of patients with systemic sclerosis, and patients have developed some coping strategies to overcome these difficulties. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: The coping strategies used by patients can be helpful for the other patients with systemic sclerosis.

The psychological and social impact of disfigurement to the hand in children and adolescents.

Hand disfigurement creates potential problems for the developing child. Parental adjustment to the hand is of prime importance in the child's ability to accept and integrate the disfigurement. Self-consciousness follows a developmental path because of internal and external factors in the child's development. This paper presents a research study carried out in order to examine the decision-making process in toe-to-hand transfers. 34 families were assessed of whom 27 decided to proceed with surgery following the decision-making process. Factors which influenced that decision included the way the surgeon communicated information. Those who decided against surgery tended to have more positive beliefs about the role of the disfigured hand in the child's psychological development. The process of decision-making allowed families and the older children to engage in a therapeutic approach.

Psychological aspects of toe to hand transfer in children. Comparison of views of children and their parents.

Thirty-seven children with congenital (n = 32) or post-traumatic (n = 5) hand anomalies underwent unilateral or bilateral toe transfers. All had undergone preoperative counselling. After rehabilitation and more than 1 year after surgery, the children and their parents were reviewed by a clinical psychologist to assess the psychosocial outcome of the surgery. A high level of satisfaction was reported with regard to the surgery, in terms of function, cosmesis, donor site, psychosocial wellbeing and the reactions of others. This was true regardless of the gender of the child. However, there was a tendency for the children to be more positive in their responses than their parents.

[Psychogenic spastic hand]. / La main spastique psychogène.

Twelve patients seen over a 8-year period with psychogenic spasms of the hand are reported. Six elderly patients presented with extrinsic flexion of the two or three medial fingers with sparing of the thumb and index. Six other patients had various hand attitudes following coincidental but not causal trauma to the upper extremity. Because of the differences in clinical presentation, age of patients and coincident trauma in some cases, the former patients were characterized as type I psychogenic spasms and the latter as type II. A major recurrent depression was the commonest psychiatric diagnosis (DSM-III-R, Axis I) with a concurrent dependent or borderline personality (DSM-III-R, Axis II). The diagnosis of psychogenic spasm of the hand is a diagnosis of exclusion, that requires a multidisciplinary approach including surgeon, neurologist, psychiatrist and rehabilitation therapist. Electromyographic studies are used to rule out a neurological or muscular etiology of the condition. Surgical treatment was uniformly unsuccessful and is probably contraindicated. Only one patient had a nearly complete spontaneous recovery.