Methods for congenital thumb hypoplasia reconstruction. A review of the outcomes for ten years of surgical treatment

Abstract

Background and objectives: Congenital thumb hypoplasia is a rare deformity of upper extremity. The incidence for thumb hypoplasia grade II-V is 1:10,000 newborns per year in Latvia. A technique for extensor indicis proprius (EIP) tendon transfer with subperiosteal fixation was developed and used for thumb hypoplasia grades II and IIIa. Pollicization or second-toe-to-hand transplantation with metatarsophalangeal (MTP) joint arthrodesis was used for the reconstruction of hypoplasia grade IIIb-V. The aim of this retrospective cohort study is to evaluate the outcomes for reconstruction techniques used in one surgical center during a ten-year period by one surgeon to evaluate functional and aesthetical outcomes for new techniques. Materials and Methods: In total, 21 patients were operated on during 2007-2017, and 18 of these patients were involved in this study. Long-term follow-up was completed to evaluate the functions and aesthetics of the hands. Results: disabilities of the arm, shoulder and hand (DASH) was 9.35 (8-10.7) for the second-toe-to-hand with MTP joint arthrodesis transplantation method for pollicization method 19.8 (6-26.7), and for the EIP tendon transposition, 14.54 (0.9-56.3). Conclusions: The postoperative functional parameters of congenital hand hypoplasia patients, regardless of the surgical method, are worse than the functional results of healthy patients. The use of the second-toe-to-hand with MTP joint arthrodesis transplantation method provides patients with congenital hand IIIb-V hypoplasia a stable and functional first finger formation. The functional results are comparable to the clinical results of the pollicization method while ensuring the creation of a five-digit hand.