Segmental reflex sympathetic dystrophy syndrome

The classical findings of Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome (RSDS), OR Sudeck's atrophy, include pain, swelling, limitation of motion, and patchy demineralization, all of which usually affect an entire extremity. This report presents two cases of RSDS which involve only a portion of an extremity--the fourth and fifth fingers. It is concluded that this segmental distribution is best explained by neural pathway transmission.