Hand and Wrist Care for Children

Amniotic band syndrome, or constriction ring syndrome, is a rare condition in which the amniotic bands wrap around the developing hands of a fetus in the womb, constricting the hand or fingers. Amniotic band syndrome is typically diagnosed at birth and treatment will depend on the severity of your child’s condition.

Our team of experts with walk your through what treatment options may apply to your child, and together, we will choose the therapy that provides the best long-term quality of life.

Camptodactyly occurs when one or more fingers are bent at the middle joint and cannot be straitened naturally. A rare condition that impacts roughly 1 percent of children, camptodactyly can worsen overtime and require treatment, depending on how serious the bend is and/or how disruptive the condition is to your child. Our pediatric orthopeadic specialties will explanation the options that may work for your child, which could include splinting, bending stretches or even surgery. Our goal is to provide your child with the best long-term care solution.

The rare, congenital condition known as cleft hand, or split hand, is characterized by missing one or more fingers, or severe hand abnormalities, such as born with a V-shaped hand with restricted or deformed fingers.

Cleft hand can lead to function and/or mobility issues that can significantly reduce your child’s range and use of their hand. Surgery can help provide more flexibility and usability of the hand, and our team will fully explain the options available for your child, and we will discuss all treatments with you before moving forward.

With clinodactyly, one finger, usually the pinky finger, has a bone abnormality that makes the bone curve significantly. This condition is most commonly found in children who are born with other congenital conditions, such as Down syndrome or Turner syndrome.

For less serious cases, there is little impairment in function and range of the finger, but if the condition is more severe bend, this could lead to lost functionality in the finger. Our experts will work with you and your family to decide what treatment(s) may be recommended, including physical therapy, occupation therapy, splinting or corrective surgery.

Hand abnormalities, such as macrodactyly, polydactyly and syndactyly, are a range of conditions that can impact the use hands and/or fingers:

• Macrodactyly is when one finger is much larger than all the other fingers
• Polydactyly occurs when there is an extra finger
• Syndactyly appears when one or more fingers are abnormally connected

With hand deformities, the severity of the condition will determine what treatment(s) may be needed to provide the optimal usability of his/her hand(s) and the best quality of life for your child. Our orthopaedic experts with work with you to decide what  treatment option(s) would help your child the most.

With Madelung deformity, the wrist develops abnormally and the radius forearm is irregular. The bone will grow faster than the other supportive bones grow, causing the bones to shorten and bow, which ultimately leads to the radius completely detaching from the ulnar (the other forearm bone).

Madelung deformity can occur in one or both arms and is not usually diagnosed until adolescence. As your child grows, he/she might experience loss of motion, pain in their arm/wrist, or have decreased wrist flexibility. For children diagnosed with Madelung deformity, surgery can address the abnormality to prevent the condition from worsening and provide more functionality.

Having a radial or ulnar deficiency is rare, but the congenital condition causes the radial and/or ulnar bone to grow incorrectly at birth. During growth, the wrist will bend inwardly, and this deficiency can also be related to thumb hypoplasia, a condition in which the thumb can be underdeveloped or missing.

Comer Children’s orthopaedists will help your child with stretching the bones to increase flexibility and mobility, or we will recommend splits to help realign the bones. If necessary, we can also perform surgery that will improve your child’s hand mobility and correct the bend in his/her radial and/or ulnar.

Radioulnar synostosis is a rare condition in which the radius and the ulna (the forearm bones) are incorrectly fused together, limiting overall mobility and functionality of the hand and arm.

Surgery can be used to separate fused bones and put them in their proper positions within the arm.

Thumb hypoplasia, a congenital condition, appears when your child is born with an underdeveloped or missing thumb. There are several levels of thumb hypoplasia, ranging from a small but functional thumb to a complete lack of thumb on one or both hands. Children with thumb hypoplasia often have additional hand conditions associated with Holt-Oram syndrome and other congenital syndromes.

Our pediatric orthopaedic team takes a personalized approached to care with each child we treat, and if your child has thumb hypoplasia, we will create an individualized treatment plan based on what will give your child the best long-term success.

Children with trigger finger or trigger thumb have difficulties flexing and/or straightening one or more digits. With trigger finger, the digit can get stuck in “flexed” position (bent), making it difficult or impossible to straighten. Treatment usually includes surgery to release the compressed tendon on the finger, which will allow it to move more naturally.