Dupuytren's disease on the radial aspect of the hand: report on 135 hands in Japanese patients.

We studied 135 hands in 77 Japanese patients to assess the frequency of radial involvement and its association with recurrence and the Dupuytren's diathesis. The radial aspect of the hand was affected in 22% of the hands. Diseased cords were observed in ten patients who underwent surgery on the radial aspect of the hand. Longitudinal cords on the radial side of thenar eminence and distal transverse interdigital cords were common. The radial aspect of the hand was the most common site of disease extension, though recurrence never occurred after excision of a radial lesion. Ectopic lesions, bilateral hand involvement, and recurrence were significantly more frequent in patients with the radial side involvement. Thus the results of this study suggest that radial side disease is associated with the Dupuytren's diathesis and is a risk factor of recurrence.