Bilateral mirror hand: 2-year follow-up and literature review

Mirror hand syndrome is a very rare congenital deformity, also called cubital dimelia, characterized by the absence of the thumb, as well as the duplication of the fingers in a symmetrical image and, in some cases, with a duplication of the bones of the forearm.

The current treatment consists of a thumb reconstruction through thumb pollicization, although there are alternatives such as rotating osteotomy, syndactylization or conservative treatment. In this article we present the case of a girl with a non-classic bilateral mirror hand, the clinical and radiological findings, the bilateral surgical technique in two surgical times with six months of difference and two years follow-up.

Complete mobility arches, as well as a good hand holding function were achieved with metacarpophalangeal thumb flexion 0-40o, interphalangeal 5-45o and abduction-adduction 0-50o. We achieved a complete opposition of the new thumb with respect to the other fingers. The strength of the clamp between the fingers was 75.2% of the normal force for her given age, while the strength of the lateral clamp of 66.3% and that of the grip of the fist was 69.1%.

The surgical technique in the present case (pollicization of the thumb) is an excellent option, achieving objectives of fine and gross motor skills, and good cosmetic results.