Classification of congenital anomalies of the upper limb

Six hundred and ninety-four patients with 993 anomalies of the upper limbs were classified according to the classification of Swanson et al, (1983), T he data from these patients were compared with previous studies, and simila r discrepancies were found. One explanation for these discrepancies is a la ck of uniformity in the classification of Swanson et al., which may be caus ed bq; out-dated knowledge of the pathogenesis of congenital limb anomalies , Therefore, it seems necessary to describe the anomalies instead of the di agnoses. A descriptive method is being validated in our outpatient departme nt that records all anomalies of the upper limb.