Most finger deformities are genetically related. Polydactyly, syndactyly, and short finger deformities on the radial side of the upper extremity and tibial side of the lower extremity are often associated with genetic abnormalities.
Finger deformities are classified as follows: 1. Polydactyly Polydactyly is one of the most common congenital deformities. Some polydactyly is hereditary; for example, polydactyly of the middle and little fingers is an autosomal dominant deformity. The 4th finger, or ring finger, middle finger and little finger malformations each have unique manifestations. Complex malformations such as mirror hand (ulnar side of both hands) and five long finger hand are also classified as redundant finger malformations. Repetitive malformations can be subdivided into three types: radial (thumb side), intermediate and ulnar (little finger side). Simple duplication deformities should be removed as early as possible in infancy, while correction of complex polydactyly should be postponed until the age of 1 year. The superfluous thumb is the most common of the multiple finger deformities.
2, the parallel fingers The parallel fingers are also more common, parallel fingers can be divided into complete and partial parallel fingers. Only soft tissues are combined, which can be called simple syndactyly. If there is bony connection, it is called complex syndactyly. Complicated syndactyly is usually seen between 3-4 fingers, but also in Apert’s syndrome (premature closure of cranial sutures, various degrees of complex syndactyly of the hand or foot), girdle deformity, and Poland’s syndrome (absence and syndactyly of the pectoralis major). Surgical separation and full-thickness skin grafting are often required.
3.Bending finger The bending finger is either bent to the frontal or sagittal plane, except for the bending finger, which has localized bony deformation. Many children have different systemic disorders. Folded finger is a more common type of bent finger, can be divided into infant type and adolescent type. The juvenile form has a slow onset at the age of 12-14 years and is more common in females. The deformity may worsen progressively and there is rarely any functional impairment. Commonly used splint treatment, occasionally need surgery to correct.
Short fingers are short finger bones or metacarpals and are inherited orthosomally. Finger lengthening is often unsuccessful.
5, internal deviation finger Internal deviation finger is the end of the little finger to the radial side of the tilt. It can be a normal variant without any functional disorder and does not require treatment. The deformity of individual children is serious and needs to be corrected by osteotomy. As many as 25-79% of Down’s syndrome have tilted fingers, and many congenital syndromes also have this finger deformity.
Finger deformities are generally treated surgically, and the main goal of surgical treatment is to improve function, and then to take into account the improvement of morphology. Surgery should be performed as early as possible for deformities that impede hand development, while surgery for those that do not impede development can be postponed until preschool age. For tendon surgery, it is required that the child is older and can cooperate with active functional exercise; for bone and joint surgery, it should be performed after the basic cessation of skeletal development of the child.