Have you ever heard of people with extra fingers? Or maybe they saw them? Notes on children and adults with six fingers or toes appear quite often. The Internet is full of photographs of people with unusual limbs, and ordinary people tend to attribute this feature to the category of deformities or diseases. Is this congenital malformation so terrible? One can understand only by learning the reasons for the appearance of extra fingers.
Polydactyly - this is the name of the congenital anomaly of anatomical nature, which manifests itself as extra fingers on the feet or on the hands. Statistics say that out of every five thousand newborns, one has deviations in the number of fingers, and this defect does not always manifest itself symmetrically.
Varieties of polydactyly
Congenital changes with this developmental anomaly can occur in several ways:
- If the split of the embryonic structures of the phalanges occurred in the early stages of development, a full-sized and fully functional additional finger is formed.
- The appearance of rudimentary undeveloped processes from the external or internal edge of the palm and foot.
- Bifurcation of the nail phalanx or the appearance of processes on the fingers also belong to the phenomenon of polydactyly.
The situation when a person has fully functional six fingers on his hand (photo below) is a rarity. In India, such children are born more often than in other regions, so this symptom there is a separate item in police profiles. As a rule, the accessory phalanges cannot be operated or even controlled in any way, and people with six fingers on their hands undergo corrective operations.
Reasons for multi-fingering
Teratogenic effects of chemicals on the fetus (taking certain drugs of a pregnant woman) can cause a violation of the order of cell division and the formation of tissues and organs. In the case of congenital polydactyly, the beginnings of the finger phalanges are exposed to toxins.
The heredity factor, according to doctors, is the main reason for the appearance of extra fingers. Often in the family pedigree, you can trace the inheritance of this defect and its appearance through a generation or in a series of several generations in a row. The genes that cause polydactyly are dominant, which means that they appear when they are present in the genotype. But it happens that due to incomplete penetrance, the defect still remains hidden.
Isolated polydactyly does not pose additional threats to the body, but multi-fingering is often manifested in complex gene or chromosomal disorders. Scientists know up to 120 syndromes, the sign of which is six fingers on the hands or more (Patau, Lawrence, Meckel syndromes).
Diagnosis of polydactyly in newborns
Immediately after the birth of the baby, a pediatrician or neonatologist examines. Therefore, when a baby is born with six fingers on the arm or leg, the diagnosis is made immediately.
To determine the treatment methods, the doctor needs to establish:
- The position of the extra finger, which can be preaxial (between the ring finger and little finger) or post-axial, behind the little finger.
- The nature of the pathology. With hereditary polydactyly, the extra finger departs from the fifth metacarpal bone and is developed quite well. If we are talking about a birth defect, then the finger will be underdeveloped, in the form of one / several phalanges inside the skin protrusion.
- The presence of additional changes in the anatomy of the metacarpus or metatarsus, which can manifest as additional bones, deformations of the joints, ligaments and tendons.
- Is polydactyly an independent anomaly or manifested as part of the syndrome. For this, other symptoms are evaluated and additional tests are prescribed.
After that, the treatment technique is selected. It consists in the operative removal of extra fingers to a child who has six fingers on his hands from birth or deformed foot, could develop normally without feeling psychological and physical infringement. The doctor determines at what age it is best to remove, and whether plastic surgery will be needed to restore the aesthetic appearance of the limb.
Preparation for surgery
Features of the genesis of polydactyly affect the volume of surgical intervention. For example, the skin fold, which is supplied by capillaries, is not difficult to remove. And if six fingers on the hands are accompanied by corresponding changes in the metacarpus, then more than one operation will be required. And in cases of full functionality of the "extra" fingers, a decision may be made to leave everything as it is.
Choosing the method of surgical treatment of polydactyly, doctors conduct several more studies:
- radiography of the limb;
- study of blood supply to the extra fingers.
There are times when a large vessel feeds two partially separated fingers at once. Then removal without taking this feature into account can lead to subsequent disturbances in blood supply.
When all studies are completed, an operation is performed. Sometimes it is preceded by therapeutic treatment, but such cases are rare. Usually the attending physician insists on the treatment of polydactyly at an early age, most operations are performed in the first month of the child's life.
Procrastination only complicates the situation, because the bones and surrounding tissues in children grow rapidly, experience a certain load. The earlier plastic is made, the fewer secondary deformations will have to be fought.
But what if you leave ...
It is recommended that you remove the extra toes on the feet. A large load on the foot when walking in combination with polydactyly leads to further deformation of the limb, pain and problems with the selection of shoes.
On the hands, on the other hand, especially if all the fingers are well developed and the hands are symmetrical, this feature will do little harm. Unless you have to order gloves from a tailor and catch curious looks.