A Case of Spontaneous Rupture of Extensor Tendons in the Hand Associated with Rheumatoid Arthritis

Abstract

Mrs. T. M., a nurse, twenty-nine years old, had a eleven-year history of rheumatoid arthritis.
In October 1972, she noticed a spontaneous inability to extend the fourth and fifth fingers of the right hand.
Clinical examination revealed dorsal prominence of the distal end of the ulna and typical findings of rheumatoid arthritis in the hands.
At operation, the tendon of the extensor digiti quinti proprius was found to have been ruptured. The extensor digitorum communis tendons to the fourth and fifth fingers were separated completely.