The classification and treatment of congenital syndactyly

Objective To discuss the classification and treatment of congenital syndactyly. Methods From January 1988 to March 1999, 24 cases of congenital syndactyly were treated and classified by fusion tissue combined with the degree of fusion as follows: ①simple complete syndactyly (4 cases). Those involving two fingers could be treated with a single stage operation, while those involving more than three fingers with a two stage operation. ②simple incomplete syndactyly (9 cases), treated with a single stage operation. ③complicated complete syndactyly ( 4 cases), treated with a two stage operation.④complicated incomplete syndactyly(none in our cases).⑤complex syndactyly ( 7 cases), whose treatment only involved the division of fusion fingers. The treatment mainly involved the division of the common skin enveloped by a serrated line, reconstruction of the floor of the web space using flaps, followed by skin grafting to the skin defective area. Results All 24 cases were followed up for 6 months to 10 years and evaluated by Swanson method ,with excellent in 19cases, good in 4 and poor in 1. Conclusions Satisfactory treatment outcome can be obtained in congenital syndactyly when classification by fusion tissue as well as the degree of fusion are considered. Those with complete syndactyly involving more than three fingers should be treated with a two stage operation.