Surgical treatment of the duplicated thumb.

Fifteen patients with 18 duplicated thumbs were treated surgically at The Shriners Hospital for Crippled Children, Springfield Unit, between 1925 and 1990. We compared the outcome of patients treated by ablation of the extra thumb with that of patients treated by ablation and radial collateral ligament reconstruction. Three patients with four duplicated thumbs, all from the ablation-only group, required additional surgical treatment for the following reasons: joint instability, contracture, angulation of the digit, and bony prominence. No patient from the ablation-plus-ligament-reconstruction group has required further operative treatment.