[Late results of early operations of congenital defects of the hands.]

The submitted paper is based on a group of 610 patients suffering from congenital defects of the hands. This number comprises 322 cases of syndactyly (s. simplex - 263, s. complicata - 59, s. ossealis - 9, acrosyndactylia - 6, s. totalis - 10, Sy Apert - 3, synbrachydactylia - 34, Sy Poland - 15), 23 cases of synpolydactylia, 265 cases of polydactylia. The authors describe their own 25-year experience with surgical treatment of different defects and evaluate the long-term postoperetive results of early operations of these patients. In the conclusion they maintain that surgical treatment of inborn defects of the hands must be evaluated individually in every child, depending on the type of defect, the grade of affection and the general health status. Key words: hand, congenital defects, treatment, results.