Poland syndrome includes the word "Poland," but it is unrelated to the country Poland. It was discovered by a doctor named Poland in the mid-19th century and is named after him. Poland syndrome is a rare developmental anomaly that affects one side of the chest and hand. This syndrome typically manifests as underdeveloped chest muscles and bones on one side, while the other side develops normally. Key features may include missing chest muscles, asymmetrical breast development, and abnormalities in the development of the hand and fingers, often accompanied by short and fused fingers.

 

For babies with Poland syndrome and fused fingers, the usual approach involves initially separating the fused fingers. As long as the baby weighs 12 pounds and has no respiratory or heart diseases, surgery can be performed at six months of age. The earlier the surgery, the greater the plasticity of the fingers. Postoperative functional exercises are crucial, as increased stimulation benefits hand development and also helps avoid the psychological impact of surgery on the child.

 

Furthermore, being younger has a significant advantage. The younger the age, the smaller the overall skin defect, resulting in a relatively shorter healing time after surgery. As long as functional exercises are maintained, the overall recovery outcome tends to be more favorable. If skin grafting is necessary, in China, the method of not transplanting skin from other parts of the child's body is employed. Instead, artificial dermis is used to complete the procedure, avoiding additional surgical wounds. The scars from the wounds are smaller, and as the wound heals, the artificial dermis gradually degrades without causing harm to the body.

 

Regarding Poland syndrome with short fingers, whether lengthening is needed generally depends on the growth rate and the degree of disproportion with the affected hand. If the affected hand does not grow much, and there is a lack of proportion in the overall size of the palm, lengthening is considered in such cases.

 

 

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