congenital limb deformities

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Congenital limb deformities are congenital musculoskeletal disorders which primarily affect the upper and lower limbs.

An example is polydactyly, where a foot or hand has more than 5 digits.

Clubfoot, one of the most common congenital deformities of the lower limbs, occurs approximately 1 in 1000 births. It can be treated by physical therapy, or by a combination of physical therapy and surgery.{{cite journal|last1=Dobbs|first1=Matthew B.|last2=Gurnett|author2-link=Christina Gurnett|first2=Christina A.|title=Update on clubfoot: etiology and treatment|journal=Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research|date=18 February 2009|volume=467|issue=5|pages=1146–1153|doi=10.1007/s11999-009-0734-9|pmid=19224303|issn=1528-1132|pmc=2664438}}

One class of congenital limb deformities, limb reduction defects, occurs when one or more limbs are undersized or missing parts. The prevalence of these defects in the United States is approximately 1 in 1900 births.{{cite web |url=https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/birthdefects/ul-limbreductiondefects.html |title=Facts about Upper and Lower Limb Reduction Defects |date=October 26, 2020 |access-date=March 18, 2021 |publisher=Center for Disease Control and Prevention}} This category includes amelia, ectrodactyly, radial dysplasia, and phocomelia among others. These defects are more likely to be unilateral than bilateral, more likely to affect the upper limbs than lower limbs, and are associated with complex genetic syndromes about 10% of the time.{{cite web |url=https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/birthdefects/surveillancemanual/chapters/chapter-4/chapter4.9b.html |title=Chapter 4.9b: Congenital Malformations and Deformations of the Musculoskeletal System: Limb Reduction Defects/Limb Deficiencies |work=Birth Defects Surveillance: A Manual for Programme Managers |date=November 27, 2020 |access-date=March 18, 2021 |publisher=Center for Disease Control and Prevention }}

A wide variety of abnormalities of the hands and feet, including the nails and the creases of the hand, have been described and differentiated.{{cite journal |title=Elements of morphology: Standard terminology for the hands and feet. |last1=Biesecker |first1=Leslie G. |last2=Aase |first2=John M. |last3=Clericuzio |first3=Carol |last4=Gurrieri |first4=Fiorella |last5=Temple |first5=I. Karen |last6=Toriello |first6=Helga |journal=Am. J. Med. Genet. A |year=2009 |volume=149A |issue=1 |pages=93–127 |doi=10.1002/ajmg.a.32596 |pmid=19125433 |pmc=3224990 }} Many of these abnormalities do not have an impact on function but may be useful in diagnosing genetic syndromes; for example, the single transverse palmar crease is commonly associated with Down syndrome.