Human Anatomy taught through the lens of the Outlander books by Diana Gabaldon and the Starz television series
Welcome all.
I hope you enjoy our commentary on this long awaited episode!
Tom refuses anesthesia but whisky will do.😉
Go, Claire!
The deeply grateful,
Outlander Anatomist
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Video Credits: Courtney Williams – www.outlanderbts
Anatomy Def: Claire confronts Dupuytren’s Contracture.
Outlander Def: A hand condition best dubbed as “Tom’s Travail!” 👋🏻
Tom’s right hand is disabled because he suffers from Dupuytren’s Contracture (DC). If you have not read my earlier Mini Anatomy Lesson about DC, you can access it here.
Quick Review: Underlying the skin of the palm is a tough layer of connective tissue known as the palmar aponeurosis. Importantly, it aids in cupping the palm, maintaining grip, and protecting underlying flexor tendons (see figure below).
DC causes the palmar aponeurosis to form thick bands and nodules that contract over time, typically drawing affected fingers toward the palm. Sometimes the palmar skin also contracts, scars, and pits.
What Claire Did: So, Claire says to Tom, “a stitch in time, saves nine.” She can fix what ails you, you auld sour pus.
Let’s do a quick recap of what Claire did. 🔪
First, and foremost, Claire kept Tom waiting. How dare you madam?
Tom’s at least as brave as Jamie so he’ll not be having any of yer potions, witchie Claire! If Jamie can stand it – so can Tom. (Jamie be like….hmmmm 🤔)
How about a wee stick to bite on ‘cos this WILL hurt! Nope, says Tom!
Alrightie, then….How about a big dram of whisky? Yep, says Tom! (Hey! It’s for medicinal purposes 🥃)
Claire buckles Tom’s hand to a nicely padded wee bed. Screaming is OK, but no move a muscle, Tom. Claire needs both hands to slice and dice. She canna be holding yours! 😷
Claire’s wee alcohol lamp gleams, brightly!
Claire sterilizes her scalpel blade in the flame.
Erm, wait! Isn’t that a modern scalpel with a disposable blade and with info stamped in the handle? Ah…… yep.
Trouble is, knives with disposable blades weren’t invented until 1901 by King C. Gillette (yep, that Gillette), followed in 1906 by John Murphy, a surgeon who adapted Gillette’s razors into a surgical tool.
OK. Then, from whence did this scalpel come? I thought Claire’s medical kit perished back in Season 3 with the Artemis.
But, wait! She still wore her bat suit after washing ashore. Mayhap her med kit survived in one of its capacious pockets? If so, that blade may be a wee bit dull! 🤭
A chance to cut is a chance to cure! And, Doc Claire is off and running!
Claire makes a quick swipe of her scalpel across the palm of Tom’s hand.
@#%$&*! That HURTS!!!
Although that first transverse cut seems a wee bit deep and wide, let’s just accept the FX and move on. Aye?
Violet arrows point to the thick, tight bands of palmar aponeurosis that pull Tom’s fingers downward. Those must be cut away or divided.
Claire carefully makes zigzag cuts in the skin and frees it from the aponeurosis. She works to remove the thickened bands of connective tissue.
And, all the while, Jamie reads from Psalms at the back of Tom’s Bible. 😂 (Doesna matter, Jamie probs has all the psalms verses memorized anyhow.)
All done! A few snips and stitches later, the fingers are straight and the zig-zag opening is zippered shut. Tidy mending, Claire!
Hum…I understand that Tom’s Thumb and index were not a problem, but what about Tom’s wee finger, didn’t it have DC, too? 🧐
A few hours later, Claire offers Tom with some gentle PT. Tom has a fever so why not some penicillin?
Madam, you have a great deal too much hair!!!! Scary woman, why aren’t you a pious wife wearing a drab kerchief? 😈
So, how does Clair’s surgery compare to the real deal? Actually, pretty good.
WARNING: The following surgical images may be a bit graphic for some. If you are squeamish, you might wish to skip.
The following are five standard surgical approaches to DC:
BTW, fasciectomy means “to cut away fascia.” (Other names are fasciotomy and aponeurectomy).
It appears Claire performed a regional fasciectomy. Yay Claire! 🤜🏻🤛🏻
Now, let’s compare to a real surgery. The following image is a left hand with DC. A tight band extends into the middle finger (top arrow) and a nodule and band to the wee finger (bottom arrow). The ring finger appears less affected than middle and wee.
The surgeon opens the palmar skin to reveal the palmar aponeurosis. The tight bands are removed or split. Fine scissors and forceps are required to work carefully and meticulously to protect nearby neurovascular bundles and other important structures (next image).
Notice – the skin cuts are zigzags like Claire employed.
Why is this done?
ZigZag Cuts: ZZ cuts are employed for three good reasons:
Lastly, thread tethers hold skin flaps out of the surgical field.
The next image shows a woman’s hand, post-surgery, wherein repairs were performed to middle, ring, and little fingers. The inked zigzags were drawn before surgery so the surgeon knows where to make the cuts. These are still visible, post-surgery.
Skin Graft: As mentioned above, If the overlying skin in DC is too damaged or it is not sufficient to close the surgical wound, a skin graft may be added; this permits the hand to be opened completely and laid flat (table top test). The follow image shows a skin graft of the little finger.
NOTE: Claire did not ink the intended zigzags on Tom’s palm although she had the means to do so. Also, the FX could have been improved by showing both ring and little finger repairs; only Tom’s ring finger showed Claire’s final handiwork. Over all, though, I thought the FX were good.
Genetics: Dupuytren’s Contracture, the most common of all connective tissue diseases, has a genetic basis. Two schools of thought explores the genetics of DC which runs in families and is more common in men and those of North European descent.
*Dominant Gene: This position claims DC is caused by a single dominant, non-sex-linked gene with incomplete penetrance. In common language:
*Recessive Gene: This school of thought suggests the sufferer must inherit a recessive gene from each parent to get the disease. If (s)he receives just one recessive gene, then they are a DC carrier and do not have the disease.
Despite the prevalence of DC, its exact cause remain somewhat obscured.
So will all this cutting and stitching by Competent Claire fill Tom Christie with joy???? 🤔
The deeply grateful,
Outlander Anatomist
Follow me on:
Photo Credits: Starz, www.istockphoto.com, www.johnericksonmd.com, www.researchgate.com, www.sciencephoto.com
Anatomy Def: Dupuytren’s Contracture, a disease involving changes to deep tissues of the palm.
Outlander Def: Tom Christie’s right hand enjoys Claire’s touch waaay too much. Watch out, Jamie! 😉
History: Dupuytren’s Contracture (DC) is named after Baron Guillaume Dupuytren (1777-1835), a French anatomist and military surgeon who gained considerable notoriety treating Napoleon Bonaparte’s hemorrhoids! 😲 Although he was not the first to recognize the condition, he was the first to perform a successful repair on DC and published the results (The Lancet, 1834). Hence, the disease is named for him.
Also Known As: Like Jamie, Dupuytren’s Contracture (DC) enjoys a number of aliases:
Symptoms: Tight bands and/or firm lumps (nodules) appear in the tissues deep to the palmar skin. Gradually, the fingers may curl and pull sideways or toward the palm. Overlying skin may pucker. Sufferers may experience inflammation or sensations of tenderness, burning, or itching of the hand. Pressure or tension may be felt when attempting to straighten the fingers. Sometimes both hands and even the feet are affected. More fortunate individuals experience only mild cases that do not require medical intervention. The following image shows an example of DC involving the left ring finger.
Diagnosis: Care givers use the tabletop test to help diagnose DC: the hand is placed palm-down on a flat surface. If DC is involved, the hand cannot be laid flat.
Now, onto the anatomy. Yay! 🤓
Try This: Look at your hand. Note that it has two main surfaces. The palm is known as the palmar surface; the back of the hand is its dorsal surface. See that the palmar skin is tightly adherent to underlying tissues, whereas the dorsal skin moves rather easily because it is loosely attached.
Palmar Aponeurosis: Deep to our palmar skin lies a thick fan-shaped layer of collagen known as the palmar fascia or, more formally, the palmar aponeurosis (next image). Collagen fibers (fasciculi) tightly bind the palmar skin to the underlying palmar aponeurosis. This anatomy enhances our grip, helps cup the palm, and protects underlying flexor tendons.
With the skin removed, the fan-shaped palmar aponeurosis is evident (next image): The point of the fan lies at the wrist (pink arrow), then it widens sending complex collagen bands to each of our four fingers (black arrows).
In case of DC, the long bands of collagen, along with some cross fibers, thicken, tighten, and may form nodules. Ring and little fingers are most commonly affected; thumb, and index and middle fingers are less often involved. Sometimes DC affects both hands and even the feet. Although some sources claim there is no correlation between occupation and development of this condition, others cite manual labor as a predisposing factor.
Learn more about the complex anatomy of the hand in Anatomy Lesson #22, Jamie’s Hand Symbol of Sacrifice and Anatomy Lesson #23, Harming Hands, Helping Hands, Healing Hands.
Cause: Although poorly understood, several parameters suggest DC is likely is an autoimmune disease caused by a single dominant gene which is unaffiliated with either X or Y chromosomes (the sex chromosomes). Even if present, the gene doesn’t always express itself. The reason for this is unknown.
Risk Factors: There are interesting risk factors associated with DC.
Other Associated Factors:
Treatment of DC: For many years, surgery was the only treatment for DC. In recent times, this has changed and new strategies have appeared.
Read about Tom’s disease in Diana’s sixth big book, “A Breath of Snow and Ashes.” Dr. Claire describes Tom’s suffering: 🤒
He had been suffering from a condition in the right hand called Dupuytren’s contracture—or at least it would be called that, once Baron Dupuytren got round to describing it in another sixty or seventy years. Caused by a thickening and shortening of the fibrous sheet that kept the hand’s tendons in place when the fingers flexed, the result of it was to draw the ring finger in toward the palm of the hand. In advanced cases, the little finger and sometimes the middle finger as well were involved. Tom Christie’s case had advanced quite a bit since I had last had the chance of a good look at his hand.
See Claire’s assessment of Tom Christie’s Dupuytren’s Contracture in Outlander episode 601, Echoes! Stay tuned! Claire will operate on Tom’s hand in Outlander Episode 603, “Temperance!” 😲
The deeply grateful,
Outlander Anatomist
Follow me on:
Photo Credits: Starz, www.johnericksonmd.com, Netter’s Atlas of Human Anatomy, www.OrthoBullets.com, www.researchgate.net