Segmental Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy

Reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD), known also as complex regional pain syndrome, is a well-recognized complex response of the body to trauma, thought to be mediated by the sympathetic nervous system and usually resultingin unrelenting nonanatomic pain, out of proportion to the inciting event. These changes classically affect an entire distal portion of an extremity. A rarer, segmental form of RSD in only a part of an extremity has been described involving discrete anatomic structures. The authors present an uncommon manifestation of RSD involving only the medial aspect of the left hand.