The radial club hand

Abstract

We have had the opportunity to study several hundred children with various radial club hand deformities. Amongst them there was no patient who benefited from operative correction. We believe therefore that the patient with a radial club hand may obtain adequate performance making the life more tolerable for him and providing maximum independence, and it is our task to provide these patients with adequate training for such functional use of their radial club hand. For example, typewriter training is performed in our clinic, the keys being color coded (Fig. 20). Such children are able to compete both at school and in their professions. Success in competition and recognition by their fellows improves the self-confidence of patients with radial club hands, an important prerequisite for them to accept their deformity. It is important that these patients be convinced that radial club hand is cosmetically conspicuous but yet a functionally valuable and necessary part of their body capable of worthy achievements.