Citron 2003.

Methods	Single‐centre UK study Pseudorandomised controlled clinical trial Recruitment between 1996 and 2000
Participants	30 participants 24 male:6 female Mean age (at diagnosis): 67 years for treatment group; 66 years for control group Inclusion criteria: yes: "Dupuytren’s contracture of a single ray confined to the palm and affecting only the MCPJ, a single cord of Dupuytren’s tissue, no previous surgery for Dupuytren’s disease in that ray, agreement to surgery" Exclusion criteria: not specified
Interventions	Longitudinal incision closed with z‐plasty vs Transverse incision
Outcomes	Recurrence (reappearance of palpable disease) Lower recurrence in z‐plasty group than in direct closure group (P value < 0.1) MCPJ flexion deformity: preoperative, postoperative No statistical analysis presented Both outcomes measured by 5 different unblinded assessors over the course of the study; outcomes assessed at 2 years postop Complications reported? yes Details: "no complications"
Notes	Mean length of follow‐up: 2 years (range 2.0 to 3.5) Low‐quality evidence, as pseudorandomised and at high risk of bias and imprecision No funding sources acknowledged; no conflicts of interest declared.
Risk of bias
Bias	Authors' judgement	Support for judgement
Random sequence generation (selection bias)	High risk	Alternation rather than randomisation
Allocation concealment (selection bias)	High risk	Alternation rather than randomisation
Incomplete outcome data (attrition bias) All outcomes	Low risk	10% loss to follow‐up but balanced between groups
Selective reporting (reporting bias)	Low risk	Primary outcomes reported
Other bias	Unclear risk	Unblinded study with alternation rather than randomisation.
Blinding of participants and personnel (performance bias) All outcomes	High risk	Surgeon unblinded
Blinding of outcome assessment (detection bias) All outcomes	High risk	Multiple unblinded assessors throughout study