Congenital central hand deficit.

A retrospective study of 60 patients in whom 80 hands demonstrated a congenital central deficity showed that 23% also had central foot deficits and 15% had a family history of similar hands. The hands are classified based on absence of one, two, or three central rays. The long ray is most affected, followed by the index and ring rays. Many also had lesser deficiencies in border rays. Surgery was performed on the central or border ray structures in 58% of the hands. Function of the hand cannot be predicted from its anatomic state. These patients did not consider their central deficits as a social catastrophe.