Congenital Hand Differences: hand therapy for special little hands

Workshop details:
Title: Congenital Hand Differences: hand therapy for special little hands
Authors / Presenters: Myhr H, Van Middelaar A
Affiliations: Counties Manukau Health, Te Whatu Ora / Health New Zealand

Approximately 1–3% of babies are born with congenital anomalies, and of these, approximately 10% have upper extremity anomalies.

Hand therapists play an important role in providing conservative and post-operative treatment for babies and children with congenital hand differences.

Upper limb anomalies may be classified as: failure of formation, failure of differentiation, duplication, overgrowth, undergrowth, constriction band syndrome and other skeletal abnormalities. In this workshop, we will explore some of the more common congenital hand differences that present to hand therapists, including clasp thumb, camptodactyly, and duplicate digits.

We will discuss cooperation milestones for children and share tips for successful splinting at different ages. We will also recommend useful toys that clinics may wish to include in their toolkits.

In the practical component of this workshop, participants will work in pairs to make an effective ‘Houdini-proof’ thumb extension splint for infants and children.

Led by the main hospital, this session will showcase a neat custom thumb extension design for paediatrics using Orfit material. The design is particularly clever in that it prevents children from removing the splint, which has been a common challenge.