Südeck's post-traumatic osteodystrophy

The diversity that exists in the types of trauma, in the investigated anatomical structures, in the sites of trauma, in the outcomes of traumatic injuries, and in the general reaction of the body lead to a symptomatological polymorphism of post-traumatic sequelae. Therefore it is impossible to establish a well-defined nosological entity of these sequelae. The damaged tissues react under a very similar scheme, irrespective of the type of tissue, trauma or area, namely, through an inflammatory process, that causes various sequelae depending on certain parameters. Südeck post-traumatic osteodystrophy may be defined as a pathological entity based on some well-defined clinical features, on the development of its own therapy and on its more or less ubiquitous character. Südeck's post-traumatic osteodystrophy of the hand is rarely found isolated. This "acute bone atrophy" is usually included in the "pathological syndrome of the hand" and is caused by circulatory disorders that occur on a traumatized hand or on a hand with injury "at a distance", especially when nerve damage is involved.