[The metacarpophalangeal stabilization test and its value in surgery of the leprous hand].

In a claw hand with ulnar-nerve and median-nerve paralysis, if the digits are stabilized to prevent over-extension at the metacarpophalangeal joints, the long extensor alone could fully extend all phalanges. From the proximal interphalangeal stiffness evaluated by this test (on more than 200 claw hands operated on 20 years ago) I propose a simple therapeutic scheme for palliative surgery.