[Morphology and classification of cleft hands].

It is the intention of this study to present a more profound investigation of the morphology of cleft hands and to provide a new classification based on the results of that investigation. After a short review of the literature, which shows the different opinions regarding heredity, pathogenesis and classification of cleft hand, the authors demonstrate their own patients with 35 cleft hands: The deformities were mostly bilateral and associated with cleft feet. In unilateral cases the right side was more common. Males were in the majority. This paper puts emphasis on the analysis of X-ray morphology. The authors are able to demonstrate that the cleft hand shows several peculiarities which have not been yet sufficiently respected. It was found out, that, apart from aplasia of the bones and soft tissue, synostosis is often the origin of clefting. In 40% of our cases the cleft was caused exclusively by synostosis, in a further 34% it derived partly from synostosis of the phalanges and the metacarpal bones. In the carpus we found osseous deformities surprisingly often, a feature which has hardly been mentioned in former studies. Among the numerous associated malformations emphasis must be placed on the osseous syndactylies and the central polydactylies, because they are closely related to the cleft hand as shown by Ogino. 18 of our own cases belong to this group. Our investigations lead us to the following classification: Cleft hand type 1: Cleft hands with osseous defects (aplasias) Cleft hand type 2: Cleft hands with synostosis Cleft hand type 3: Cleft hands with aplasias and synostosis Hands with central polydactyly and synostosis as preforms of the cleft hand could be classified in type 4. These phenomena form the beginning of the teratological row towards the completely developed cleft hand. In combination with Blauth's distribution of cleft hands, who distinguished the median and medio-lateral form (1976, 1978) this new classification enables each cleft hand to be placed into one of the different types, which are analysed: Type 1 mostly shows a medio-lateral form, is always combined with cleft feet and shows heredity in 50% of the cases. It cannot be classified by the Ogino method. Type 2 mostly shows a median form, is not frequently combined with cleft feet, heredity occurs in one third of the cases. This type can very often be classified by the Ogino method. Type 3 varies from case to case because of the different items of defects.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)