Congenital Hand and Upper Extremity Malformations

A retrospective look at the past 20 years illustrated the changes and developments that characterize the world of hand surgery. During these years, old techniques were developed and standardized, new surgical techniques were described, our knowledge improved and illustrated by better classification systems, and new ideas were born that would guide the future of hand surgery. Limb deformities are among the most common birth defects in infants. Over the past 150 years, many classifications of limb abnormalities based on bone morphology and anatomy have been developed.

Congenital anomalies of the hand require consistent and reproducible terminology, and it is a universal language that allows discussion of complex clinical entities, treatment indications and outcome comparisons.

Ideally, the classification of congenital anomalies of the hand will depend on the etiology, giving some indication of the location in the molecular pathway and / or the anatomical location in the developing limb bud where the error occurs and the moment when the fault occurs. The terms should be understandable to geneticists, anatomists, pathologists, and surgeons, and they should allow easy interpretation to parents and, where appropriate, children affected by these conditions. The classification of congenital anomalies of the upper extremity and the important association of these anomalies with systemic disorders and syndromes are described in this study. Depending on the classification, examples are given for each class of anomalies.