Abstracts can be misleading

Unlike proximal interphalangeal joint contractures from Dupuytren's, metacarpophalangeal joint contractures usually respond so well to fasciectomy or fasciotomy that joint capsule or ligament release is generally not a consideration. Because of this, I was intrigued by the title of this report: a series of patients treated with dermofasciectomy and MP joint release - it's an unusual combination. What I found instead was that the original report must have been lost in translation: the text describes fasciectomy but calls it dermofasciectomy; the pictures show a mix of proximal interphalangeal joint and metacarpopalangeal joint contractures; the statistical analysis reports 1/25 as 2.5% instead of 4% in reporting complications. Reinterpreted along these lines, the results are similar to previous reports of fasciectomy and proximal interphalangeal joint release, which is apparently what this report actually describes. http://www.dupuytrenfoundation.org/DupPDFs/2003_Saleh.pdf