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Classification

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

Thumb duplication has been classified by Wassel(1). It is based upon the most proximal level of skeletal duplication:

  • type 1: bifid distal phalanx
  • type 2: duplicated distal phalanx
  • type 3: bifid proximal phalanx
  • type 4: duplicated proximal phalanx
  • type 5: bifid metacarpal phalanx
  • type 6: duplicated metacarpal phalanx
  • type 7: triphalangeal thumb

Type 4 is the most common (50% of such duplications) followed by type 2 and then type 6. There is no equivalent in this classfication of a rudimentary digit attached by a short soft tissue bridge to the radial side of the hand (the equivalent of a Stelling A type duplicated digit on the the ulnar side of the hand). Classification may be confounded by the ossification patterns within the bones: delayed ossification may require serial films; two initially separate areas within a phalanx may fuse into one at a later date.

 

Ref: Wassel HD (1969). Clin Orthop 64: 175-195.


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