1. Interphalangeal Joint Stiffness Following Claw Hand Reconstruction
- Author
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G. D. Sundararaj and K. Mani
- Subjects
musculoskeletal diseases ,Reconstructive surgery ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Claw ,Time Factors ,animal structures ,Elbow ,Immobilization ,Finger Joint ,Hand Deformities, Acquired ,Methods ,Humans ,Medicine ,Physical Therapy Modalities ,Conventional technique ,Postoperative Care ,Orthodontics ,Transplantation ,INTERPHALANGEAL JOINT STIFFNESS ,business.industry ,Hand reconstruction ,Stiffness ,Surgery ,body regions ,Casts, Surgical ,medicine.anatomical_structure ,Finger joint ,medicine.symptom ,business - Abstract
Conventional immobilisation following surgery for claw hand reconstruction necessitates altogether more than six weeks of post-operative physiotherapy. Two to four weeks of physiotherapy was required for re-education of the transferred tendons and an additional period of physiotherapy was needed to overcome the interphalangeal joint stiffness seen in all hands—even those with no pre-operative I.P. stiffness. Fifty hands with no pre-operative I.P. stiffness were immobilised post-operatively following claw hand correction by three different techniques, (Conventional technique 20 hands; Modification type 1, 10 hands and Modification type 2, 20 hands). Modification type 1 produced unsatisfactory results. Modification type 2 however, resulted in near total absence of I.P. stiffness with no additional physiotherapy required to overcome the minimal stiffness, without interfering with the results of reconstructive surgery. Type 2 immobilisation was achieved by a volar plaster slab extending from just below the elbow to the finger tips with circumferential plaster up to just beyond the metacarpophalangeal joints. Modification type 2 is recommended.
- Published
- 1984
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