OBJECTIVE: To report the frequencies of congenital hand diseases in patients who underwent surgery in a provisional clinic as part of the Hand of Recife SOS- Recife, Pernambuco, from 2005 to 2009. METHODS: The information was collected from 833 children and adolescents cared for in eight missions. RESULTS: Among the patients, 306 (36.7%) underwent surgery; 240 (78.4%) for congenital malformation, and 66 (21.6%) for acquired lesions. The most frequent malformations were: syndactyly, 72 (30.0%) cases; polydactyly, 30 (12.5%) cases; bifid thumb, 19 (7.9%) cases; complex hand anomaly, 14 (5.8%) cases; cleft hand, 13 (5.4%) cases; trigger finger, 12 (5.0%) cases; camptodactyly, 11 (4.6%) cases; and brachysyndactyly, 9 (3.7%) cases. The most frequent acquired injuries were: obstetric brachial plexus paralysis, 26 (39.4%) cases; hand trauma sequelae, 18 (27.3%) cases; cerebral paralysis sequelae, 7 (10.6%) cases; electrical shock sequelae, 5 (7.6%) cases; and hand burn injury, 4 (6.1%) cases. CONCLUSION: The nosology of hand diseases is, as a whole, similar to the great series of elective hand surgeries, especially regarding congenital hand abnormalities. The frequencies of acquired hand lesions seem to be higher than in the international series. The provisional clinic hand surgery system is important in decreasing the need for this activity in public institutions, and it has been shown to be very effective. The good outcomes of the missions may offer support for The Brazilian Health System to enroll hand surgeons in the on-call system in the emergency units.
Hand Deformities, Congenital; Child; Adolescent
