Index finger pollicization for congenital aplasia or hypoplasia of the thumb

Scott H. Kozin, Albert A. Weiss, John B. Webber, Randal R. Betz, Michael Clancy, Howard H. Steel

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

67 Scopus citations

Abstract

Sensation, strength, dexterity, length, and range of motion were evaluated after index finger pollicization in 10 patients (14 hands). Diagnoses included congenital absence of the thumb (10 hands) and hypoplasia (4 hands). Average age at operation was 7 years, and follow-up averaged 9 years. Patients with unilateral pollicization averaged 67% grip strength, 60% lateral pinch, 56% palmar pinch, and 39% three-point pinch as compared with the normal contralateral hand. Manual dexterity averaged 70% efficiency as compared with normal standards defined according to age and sex. However, 55% of the patients, when stressed, used side-to-side pinch. It was noted that in those patients who used side-to-side pinch performance averaged 54% of normal standards, compared with 93% in patients who used tip-to-tip pinch for prehension.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)880-884
Number of pages5
JournalJournal of Hand Surgery
Volume17
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 1992
Externally publishedYes

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