Pollicization in the treatment of congenital severe hypoplasia and aplasia of the thumb: a systematic review.

Pollicization of the index is the treatment of choice for severe hypoplasia and aplasia of the thumb. After a historical overview, we present a systematic review of this procedure. The main steps of this procedure were reported by Dieter Buck-Gramcko in 1971 and are still relevant nowadays. Many refinements have been described over the last decades by different surgeons to address limitations related to bone stock, musculotendinous structures and skin incisions. However, considering the complexity of this procedure and the results in the literature, the functional and esthetic outcomes can still be improved thanks to basic research. Pollicization of the index is rarely done and is one of the most demanding surgical procedure in hand surgery.