Dupuytren`s contracture : a study of its incidence in Malta

Abstract

Contracture of the hand has been described for centuries. Statistics compiled by various authors have established the incidence of the disease. A study of its incidence in Malta during the period 1964 – 1974 is presented. During this period twenty cases of Dupuytren's contracture were referred to the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at St. Luke's Hospital, Malta; the age incidence, patients and clinical conditions, as well as the relative treatments, including surgical interventions are discussed. It may be said that Dupuytren's contracture is present in these Islands perhaps in lesser proportion than in other countries; that males are affected four times more than females and mainly in late middle age; of these, fifty per cent are likely to be bilateral with the greater proportion affecting the ring or tittle fingers of the right hand.