Augmentation of muscular wasting in the hand from leprosy.

One of the stigmata of leprosy in the hand is muscular wasting between the metacarpals of the thumb and index finger. Such a deformity, which may rarely arise for other neuropathic reasons, may pass unnoticed in places where leprosy is not endemic, but is obvious to all in places where leprosy is still common, and undesirably stamps afflicted persons as lepers even if the disease is arrested. A surgical technique is described in which a buried dermal graft is used for augmentation of the depression of that muscular wasting between thumb and index finger.