Congenital Hand Deformities

Congenital deformities of the hand can interfere with proper hand growth and cause significant problems in the use of the hand. Fortunately, with modern surgical techniques most defects can be corrected at a very early age-in some cases during infancy, in others at two or three years-allowing normal development and functioning of the hand.

One of the most common congenital defects is syndactyly, in which two or more fingers are fused together.

syndactyly-1 syndactyly-2

Surgical correction involves cutting the tissue that connects the fingers, then grafting skin from another part of the body. (The procedure is more complicated if bones are also fused.) Surgery can usually provide a full range of motion and a fairly normal appearance, although the color of the grafted skin may be slightly different from the rest of the hand.

Other common congenital defects include short, missing, or deformed fingers, immobile tendons, and abnormal nerves or blood vessels. In most cases, these defects can be treated surgically and significant improvement can be expected.