Severity grading in radial dysplasia.

A functional scoring method to grade the usefulness and quality of the upper limbs in congenital radial dysplasia is presented. It is based on the author's examinations of 44 arms with congenital deficiency of the radius. The hand (H), wrist (W) and proximal parts (P) of the extremity are each scored from 0 to 10 points for severity. The scoring is expressed similarly to the TNM (tumour, nodes, metastasis) tumour classification, for example as H5W4P2. The maximum severity index is 30 points. A severity grade of mild is between 1 and 8 points, moderate between 9 and 16 points and severe 17 points and over. In the author's series, the grades were mild in eight, moderate in 21 and severe in 15 cases. The functional severity grading should allow better comparison of radially deficient limbs and the results of treatment between groups of patients.