Harry Finkelstein
Harry Finkelstein (1883–1975) was a Russian-born American orthopaedic surgeon
Finkelstein’s major contribution was his 1930 review and operative series of stenosing tendovaginitis at the radial styloid. He reported 24 operated cases, highlighted frequent misdiagnosis, described the pathology as fibrous thickening and constriction of the tendon sheath, and gave the original description of the provocative manoeuvre now known as the Finkelstein Test.
One of the co-founders of the Hospital for Joint Diseases in New York. In 1932, Along with E. J. Haboush invented a stabilizing apparatus and operative technique for bone lengthening decades before the Ilizarov technique.
Most commonly quoted as having died in 1939. In fact, this was the year of his retirement following a severe coronary occlusion. Harry Finkelstein lived on until 1975 and died at the age of 91.
Biography
- Born February 28, 1883 in Ekaterinoslav, Russian Empire — now Dnipro, Ukraine
- 1888 – Emigrated to the United States with his parents and settled in New York City.
- 1894 – Became a naturalised United States citizen through the naturalisation of his father, Louis Finkelstein
- 1904 – Medical degree Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
- 1906 – Member of the original founding staff of the Hospital for Joint Diseases
- 1924 – Chief of the Orthopedic Service, Hospital for Joint Diseases
- 1925 – Consulting Orthopedic Surgeon, Jewish Memorial Hospital
- 1927 – Chief of orthopedic surgery at Trinity Hospital, Brooklyn
- 1930 – Published Stenosing tendovaginitis at the radial styloid process, describing the original Finkelstein test for de Quervain disease.
- 1939 – Retired from medical service due to medical illness
- Died January 24, 1975 Tarrytown, New York
Medical Eponyms
Finkelstein Test (1930)
De Quervain disease is a painful stenosing tendinopathy of the first dorsal compartment of the wrist, involving the abductor pollicis longus and extensor pollicis brevis tendons as they pass over the radial styloid.
The Finkelstein test is a provocative clinical manoeuvre used in the assessment of de Quervain disease.
1930 – Harry Finkelstein (1883–1975) published Stenosing tendovaginitis at the radial styloid process, reviewing the literature and reporting 24 operated cases. He emphasised that de Quervain disease was often misdiagnosed as rheumatism, neuritis, periostitis, nonspecific tenosynovitis, or tuberculous osteitis. He described the original Finkelstein test:
On grasping the patient’s thumb and quickly abducting the hand ulnarward, the pain over the styloid tip is excruciating. This is probably the most pathognomonic objective sign.
Finkelstein 1930
The original Finkelstein test should be distinguished from the Eichhoff test (1927) in which the patient places the thumb in the palm, closes the fingers over it, and the wrist is deviated ulnarward. Eichhoff’s manoeuvre is commonly mislabelled as Finkelstein’s test and may produce false-positive pain by stressing adjacent radial wrist structures.
1992 – Barry G. Elliott corrected the error in Finkelstein’s test: A descriptive error that can produce a false positive. Elliott distinguished Finkelstein’s original thumb-grasp test from Eichhoff’s thumb-in-fist experiment and warned that the incorrect version could produce false positives and lead to inappropriate surgery.
Right: Eichhoff experiment: the thumb is grasped in the clenched fingers and the hand abducted ulnarward.
Major Publications
- Rosenheck C, Finkelstein H. Treatment of sciatica by perineural infiltrations and epidural injections – an analysis of fifty cases. JAMA. 1916;LXVII(27):2001.
- Rosenheck C, Finkelstein H. Sciatica a neuro-orthopedic consideration. JAMA. 1925; 84(13): 939-944
- Finkelstein H. Osteochondritis of the spine. The American Journal of Surgery, 1927; 3(1): 80
- Finkelstein H. Stenosing tendovaginitis at the radial styloid process. J Bone Joint Surg 1930, 12: 509-540. [Finkelstein Test]
- Finkelstein H. Mayer L: The arthroscope: A new method of examining joints. J Bone Joint Surg. 1931; 13A: 583
- Haboush EJ, Finkelstein H. Leg lengthening with new stabilizing apparatus. J Bone Joint Surg 1932:14:807
References
Biography
- In memoriam: Dr. Harry Finkelstein. Bull Hosp Joint Dis. 1975 Apr;36(1):1.
- Dr. Harry Finkelstein, 91, Orthopedic Surgeon, Dies. New York Times. Jan 25, 1975
Eponymous terms
- Eichhoff E. Zur Pathogenese der Tendovaginitis stenosans. Bruns’ Beiträge zur klinischen Chirurgie 1927; 139: 746-755
- Leao L. De Quervain’s disease; a clinical and anatomical study. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 1958 Oct;40-A(5):1063-70.
- Aitken AP. Stenosing Tendovaginitis at the Radial Styloid Process (de Quervain’s Disease). N Engl J Med 1945; 232:105-107
- Elliott BG. Finkelstein’s test: A descriptive error that can produce a false positive. J Hand Surg Br. 1992;17(4):481-2
- Waseem M, Khan M, Hussain N, Giannoudis PV, Fischer J, Smith RM. Eponyms: errors in clinical practice and scientific writing. Acta Orthop Belg. 2005;71(1):1-8
- Wu F, Rajpura A, Sandher D. Finkelstein’s Test Is Superior to Eichhoff’s Test in the Investigation of de Quervain’s Disease. J Hand Microsurg. 2018 Aug;10(2):116-118
Eponym
the person behind the name
Dr Ronan McKenna, MB BCh BAO at National University of Ireland Galway. Living in Australia with plans for a future in Emergency Medicine. A keen interest in Medical History, Wilderness Medicine and Sport.
BA MA (Oxon) MBChB (Edin) FACEM FFSEM. Emergency physician, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital. Passion for rugby; medical history; medical education; and asynchronous learning #FOAMed evangelist. Co-founder and CTO of Life in the Fast lane | On Call: Principles and Protocol 4e| Eponyms | Books |
One comment
Leave a Reply
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Dr. Finkelstein was my great grandfather. Thank you for this detailed account of his career, giving me the opportunity to learn about him.