ainhum
Last reviewed 01/2018
This is a disease of unknown aetiology which mainly affects negroes who have run barefoot. It is far more common in males than females, and has been reported in Central Africa, Central America and the East.
A fissure appears at the level of the interphalangeal joint of a toe, usually the fifth, which becomes a fibrous band encircling the digit thereby causing necrosis and later, gangrene.
Treatment is either early Z-plasty or later, amputation.