Surgical treatment of polydactyly and syndactyly during the 4th century AD.

INTRODUCTION: Polydactyly, or polydactylism, is a common congenital disorder of the limbs, consisting of any digit duplication beyond the normal five. The term syndactyly refers to fused digits. We herein present a thorough description of these diseases together with their surgical treatment, provided by Oribasius, a Byzantine physician of the 4th century. To our knowledge, this is the earliest description of supernumerary and fused fingers and their surgical management.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: We conducted a thorough study of Oribasius' work.

RESULTS: The 15th chapter of the 47th book of Oribasius' work is devoted to finger abnormalities (i.e. polydactyly and syndactyly) and their surgical treatment.

DISCUSSION: With regard to the extensive medical knowledge of the 4th century as survived in Oribasius' work, these descriptions comprise, to the best of our knowledge, the earliest written references to the surgical treatment of polydactyly and syndactyly.