congenital clasped thumb and the report of 8 cases

this deformity is often reffered to as thumbclutched hand, but a better term is the congenital clasped thumb. the congenital clasped thumb is associated with several well-de-fined syndromes, although it may also present as an isolated abnormality. weckesser, reac, and heiple called it a syndrome and divided the syndrome in to four groups. in group i, the thumb is deficient in extention only. in group ii, flexion contractur combine with deficient extention. in group iii, the thumb is hypoplastic, and tendons and muscles are deficient. group iv consists of the few remaining cases that so not fit into the first three groups. group i cases are found three times as frequently as group ii cases, while group iii and iv cases are five times less frequet than group ii cases. the congenital clasped thumb is twice as common in males as in females and is nearly always bilateral. during the early weeks of life, an infant frequently clutches the thumb and releases it intermittently for spontaneous motion. however, by the third or fourth month of life, the normal child ceases to clasp his thumb under his fingers. if the clasping persists and normal independent action of the thumb dose not develop, the syndrome of congenital clasped thumb is present