Extra Finger

[fifty-six]

We are due to have a child in a couple days. The due date is Feb 6th.
An early ultrasound indicated a possablility of an extra finger.
What do you think we should do about this?

It will be a boy if that matters. I was thinking of waiting to see what it looked like before letting the doctors remove it.

Thanks for all opinions, jokes, snide remarks, experience, gramatical comments, and the like.

[Mahaloth]

Have it removed.

[Snooooopy]

Is there a family history of extra fingers?

[jayjay]

Originally Posted by Snooooopy

Is there a family history of extra fingers?

My god! They're Taltos!

[Aspidistra]

Don't name him Rugen

[appleciders]

Originally Posted by fifty-six

We are due to have a child in a couple days. The due date is Feb 6th.
An early ultrasound indicated a possablility of an extra finger.
What do you think we should do about this?

It will be a boy if that matters. I was thinking of waiting to see what it looked like before letting the doctors remove it.

Thanks for all opinions, jokes, snide remarks, experience, gramatical comments, and the like.

Wait to see before deciding to remove it? As opposed to what, removing it now? Unless there are risks associated with waiting, I don't think there's any reason to make the decision until later.

[Marley23]

I'm not sure what the options are, but it can't be that big a deal either way, can it? Is it a fully formed finger, or just kind of a stub on one of the normal five? My grandmother had one of those when she was born (circa 1930). It was removed when she was little and it was no problem, so I can't imagine it being troublesome in 2006.

[FaerieBeth]

Originally Posted by jayjay

My god! They're Taltos!

This was what I immediately thought, although I don't think it was the Taltos who had the extra fingers, just the witch people who could breed with them. Perhaps I'm misremembering.

[Booker57]

Custom made gloves.

[jayjay]

Originally Posted by FaerieBeth

This was what I immediately thought, although I don't think it was the Taltos who had the extra fingers, just the witch people who could breed with them. Perhaps I'm misremembering.

No, you're right. But if I'd said, "My god! They're the witch-people who can breed with the Taltos!" it would have lost a heck of a lot of punch...

[Miss Purl McKnittington]

Originally Posted by Aspidistra

Don't name him Rugen

And if it's on his right hand, keep him away from Inigo.

[Stark Raven Mad]

See if it works. I'd love a fully functional extra finger.

[cerberus]

Some serious information is here.

The condition is called polydactyly, and is generally not serious, unless it is a marker of a more complicated genetic syndrome.

[Chotii]

I think it really does depend on whether the finger is functional or more like a dewclaw, likely to be injured due to its own uselessness. I know a woman whose son was born with an extra, non-functional finger. It was removed when he was about a year old, and it was not a problem.

If the finger is functional, with proper bone and tendon structure, I personally would leave it. I do not believe in altering or removing healthy, functional tissue for purely aesthetic reasons. Removing a functional finger might damage the function of the rest of the hand, and I would call that a risk too great for no particular benefit. (I extend this to any healthy tissue removal, including non-therapeutic circumcision of infants, and the removal of healthy adult teeth as was done to me.)

I'm not even sure I believe in things like ear-piercing anymore. I wouldn't do it to a child (and I have 4 daughters, none of whom have their ears pierced). I'm not entirely sure it doesn't alter nerves in the ears (think of what an accupuncturist can do with tiny fine needles in the ears, and then poke a big damn hole in the ear without regard to the nerves there.) I know I lost most of the feeling in my ears after having multiple cartilege piercings.

I'm sure your doctor is looking into it, but there *are* certain syndromes associated with polydactyly, and that would be more of a concern to me than whether the hand looked "normal" or not.

[cerberus]

More about the syndromes assocaited with polydactyly:

Familial polydactyly (inherited trait)
Ellis-van Creveld syndrome (chondroectodermal dysplasia)
Carpenter syndrome
Trisomy 13
Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome
Smith-Lemli-Opitz
Laurence-Moon-Biedl syndrome
Asphyxiating thoracic dystrophy

Ellis-van Creveld syndrome (chondroectodermal dysplasia)
Symptoms include
* Stillbirth (common)
* Death in early infancy (common)
* Dwarfism
* Short extremities, especially forearm and lower leg
* Hair abnormalities: sparse, absent, fine texture
* Cleft lip or palate
* Tooth abnormalities:
o Peg teeth
o Widely spaced teeth
o Teeth present at birth (natal teeth )
o Teeth - delayed or absent formation
* Nail abnormalities: absent nails, deformed nails
* Joint abnormalities: limited range of motion
* Extra fingers (polydactyly )
* Epispadias or an undescended testicle (cryptorchidism)
* Congenital heart defects such as a hole in the heart atrial septal defect (ASD)

Carpenter Syndrome
Carpenter syndrome belongs to a group of rare genetic disorders known as "acrocephalopolysyndactyly" (ACPS) disorders. All forms of ACPS are characterized by premature closure of the fibrous joints (cranial sutures) between certain bones of the skull (craniosynostosis), causing the top of the head to appear pointed (acrocephaly); webbing or fusion (syndactyly) of certain fingers or toes (digits); and/or more than the normal number of digits (polydactyly). Carpenter syndrome is also known as ACPS type II.

Carpenter syndrome is typically evident at or shortly after birth. Due to craniosynostosis, the top of the head may appear unusually conical (acrocephaly) or the head may seem short and broad (brachycephaly). In addition, the cranial sutures often fuse unevenly, causing the head and face to appear dissimilar from one side to the other (craniofacial asymmetry). Additional malformations of the skull and facial (craniofacial) region may include downslanting eyelid folds (palpebral fissures); a flat nasal bridge; malformed (dysplastic), low-set ears; and a small, underdeveloped (hypoplastic) upper and/or lower jaw (maxilla and/or mandible).

Individuals with Carpenter syndrome may also have unusually short fingers and toes (brachydactyly); partial fusion of the soft tissues (cutaneous syndactyly) between certain digits; and the presence of extra (supernumerary) toes or, less commonly, additional fingers (polydactyly). In some instances, additional physical abnormalities are present, such as short stature, structural heart malformations (congenital heart defects), mild to moderate obesity, weakening in the abdominal wall near the navel through which the intestine may protrude (umbilical hernia), or failure of the testes to descend into the scrotum (cryptorchidism) in affected males. In addition, many individuals with the disorder are affected by mild to moderate mental retardation. However, intelligence is normal in some instances. Carpenter syndrome is usually inherited as an autosomal recessive trait.

Trisomy 13
Trisomy 13 occurs in about 1 out of every 5,000 live births. It is a syndrome with multiple abnormalities, many of which are not compatible with life. More than 80% of children with trisomy 13 die in the first month.

Trisomy 13 is associated with multiple abnormalities, including defects of the brain that lead to seizures, apnea, deafness, and eye abnormalities.

The eyes are small with defects in the iris (coloboma ). Most infants have a cleft lip and cleft palate, and low-set ears. Congenital heart disease is present in approximately 80% of affected infants. Hernias and genital abnormalities are common.

Symptoms Return to top

* Mental retardation, severe
* Seizures
* Small head (microcephaly)
* Scalp defects (absent skin)
* Small eyes (microphthalmia)
* Cleft lip and/or palate
* Eyes close set (hypotelorism) -- eyes may actually fuse together into one
* Iris defects (coloboma)
* Pinna abnormalities and low set ears
* Simian crease
* Extra digits (polydactyly)
* Hernias: umbilical hernia, inguinal hernia
* Undescended testicle (cryptorchidism)
* Hypotonia
* Micrognathia
* Skeletal (limb) abnormalities

The infant may have a single umbilical artery at birth. There are often signs of congenital heart disease:

* Ventricular septal defect (VSD)
* Atrial septal defect (ASD)
* Patent ductus arteriosus (PDA)
* Abnormal placement of the heart (dextroversion -- the heart is placed toward the right side of the chest instead of the left)

Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome
Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome is a genetic disease characterized by mental deficiency, broad thumbs and toes, short stature, and characteristic facial features.

Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome (RTS) is a rare condition, affecting about 1 in 125,000 people. The gene involved in RTS, which is called CREB binding protein (CREBBP), was identified in 1995.

Most patients have mutations in the gene, resulting in an abnormal CREB binding protein. About 10% of patients, typcially with more severe problems, have an outright deletion of the gene and they do not make any of the protein.

Most cases are sporadic and likely due to a new mutation occurring during fetal development, which was not passed on by either parent. However, in some cases, it is inherited in an autosomal dominant fashion, which means that if one parent passes on the defective gene, the child will be affected.

The classic feature is broad thumbs and great toes, but typically there is also short stature, unusual face, low-set ears, port-wine-stain, undescended testicles in the male, and downward slant of the eyes.

Symptoms
* Broad thumbs and great toes
* Slow development of both cognitive and motor skills with low muscle tone
* Mental retardation
* Short stature that is noticeable after birth
* Excess hair on body (hirsutism)
* Heart defects possibly requiring surgery (about 40% of patients)
* Constipation

Smith-Lemli-Opitz/RSH syndrome
In addition to growth retardation and developmental delay, many different malformations have been described in SLO/RSH. The most common defects are:

- Microcephaly (small head)
- Extra fingers or toes
- Apparently low-set ears
- Small, upturned nose
- Webbing between 2nd and 3rd toes
- Abnormal palmar creases (usually single)
- Cleft palate
- Hypospadias (genital malformation in boys)
- Cataracts
- Undescended testicles
- Blepharoptosis (drooping eyelids)
- Heart defects
- Micrognathia (small chin)
- Pyloric stenosis
- Short thumbs
- Hirschsprung disease (absent nerves in colon)

Laurence-Moon-Biedl syndrome
Laurence-Moon-Biedl syndrome is an autosomal recessive condition characterised by:

* mental retardation
* retinitis pigmentosa
* hypogonadism
* spastic paraplegia
* obesity
* polydactyly
* cataract
* squint
* renal anomalies (calyceal cysts, clubbing or diverticula; fetal lobulation)

Asphyxiating thoracic dystrophy
Asphyxiating thoracic dystrophy is a very rare form of congenital dwarfism affecting the development of the bone structure, particularly of the chest (thorax) but also of the legs and arms. Typical, major characteristics include failure of the rib cage to develop correctly, kidney problems (renal failure due to polycystitis), and shortened bones of the arms and legs.

[WhyNot]

Everything cerberus quoted has a great probablity of being picked up on ultrasound early in pregnancy. If they haven't mentioned any of the conditions, it's likely just "one of those things" that no one can explain, and needs no long term worry.

I'd have it removed, but personally, wouldn't do it until the baby was a bit older - say a year or so. I know they're really good, but I just wouldn't want to subject a newborn to anaesthesia. Let the poor guy incarnate into his body before filling him full of dangerous chemicals.

But if you or his mom is upset by the extra finger, by all means have it removed as soon as the doctor says it's OK. No need to unconsciously project "ick" to the little tyke.

Try not to obsess about it in the meantime. Enjoy your baby!

[cerberus]

Add to that the fact that these syndromes are rare, relative to the total volume of polydactyly-affected live births.

Trained physicians will likely look for these things, and have or are doing so upon noticing the polydactyly.

[papataz]

Umm, hi there!
This is my first post here, and I decided to make it just to tell fifty-six that things do not have to turn out as scary as they maybe seem at the moment.

My son was born with 12 fingers and 12 toes, the difference between them being that his fingers were soft and boneless, way smaller than his pinky, while the toes were fully formed, bones and everything.

When he was born, doctors suspected that his condition was merely an indivation of something bigger that's gone wrong but, fortunately, we did some DNA tests and a bunch of other (nerve-wrecking, let me tell you) tests that proved that everything else besides the number of his fiingers is OK.

We didn't want to send him to surgery, but it turned out that his extra toe was stopping him hrom standing properly, and the "fingers" were so soft that they used to just fall into his hand while he was trying to make a fist or grab something, thus getting in his way, so, when he was six months old, he had a surgery that removed them.

Today, he's four years and four months old and has very good reflexes, hand coordination and dexterity (that's another thing that the doctors said he might have a problem with later in life - I thank video games for his skills ), and the only thing that sets him apart from other kids is the fact that he has to wear special shoes because he's still walking a bit funny, but we've been told that he'll have to wear them just for another year or so...

So, that's my story... I don't know if your case will have any similarities with my son's but, whatever happens, best of luck and don't panic!
There are some doctors who seem to enjoy giving grim predictions (that's my experience, anyway), and don't let them get to you.

(Sorry for any typos and grammar errors - it's early in the morning here, and my english is not so good before I have my first coffee, but I had to post this)

[Smeghead]

Start saving for piano lessons.

[Kalhoun]

Originally Posted by papataz

Umm, hi there!
This is my first post here, and I decided to make it just to tell fifty-six that things do not have to turn out as scary as they maybe seem at the moment.

My son was born with 12 fingers and 12 toes, the difference between them being that his fingers were soft and boneless, way smaller than his pinky, while the toes were fully formed, bones and everything.

When he was born, doctors suspected that his condition was merely an indivation of something bigger that's gone wrong but, fortunately, we did some DNA tests and a bunch of other (nerve-wrecking, let me tell you) tests that proved that everything else besides the number of his fiingers is OK.

We didn't want to send him to surgery, but it turned out that his extra toe was stopping him hrom standing properly, and the "fingers" were so soft that they used to just fall into his hand while he was trying to make a fist or grab something, thus getting in his way, so, when he was six months old, he had a surgery that removed them.

Today, he's four years and four months old and has very good reflexes, hand coordination and dexterity (that's another thing that the doctors said he might have a problem with later in life - I thank video games for his skills ), and the only thing that sets him apart from other kids is the fact that he has to wear special shoes because he's still walking a bit funny, but we've been told that he'll have to wear them just for another year or so...

So, that's my story... I don't know if your case will have any similarities with my son's but, whatever happens, best of luck and don't panic!
There are some doctors who seem to enjoy giving grim predictions (that's my experience, anyway), and don't let them get to you.

(Sorry for any typos and grammar errors - it's early in the morning here, and my english is not so good before I have my first coffee, but I had to post this)

Not my OP, but thanks for the informative post.

And...folks...I know the OP said thanks for the jokes, but please...try to resist, huh?

[Broomstick]

Originally Posted by fifty-six

We are due to have a child in a couple days. The due date is Feb 6th.
An early ultrasound indicated a possablility of an extra finger.
What do you think we should do about this?

If the finger is functional, leave it be.

If it's nonfunctional, or its position is interfering with the use of that hand, then definitely consider removing it.

Whatever happens, do not allow eager doctors to rush you into surgery. An extra finger in and of itself is not life-threatening, after all. I wouldn't want a child of mine subjected to surgery simply because someone else thinks that people who look different should be surgified into an arbitrary standard of "normal", even if that person has a bucketload of degrees after his or her name.

[Silentgoldfish]

Originally Posted by Broomstick

Whatever happens, do not allow eager doctors to rush you into surgery. An extra finger in and of itself is not life-threatening, after all. I wouldn't want a child of mine subjected to surgery simply because someone else thinks that people who look different should be surgified into an arbitrary standard of "normal", even if that person has a bucketload of degrees after his or her name.

Arbitrary standards of normal? We're talking an extra finger, not small breasts.

[Broomstick]

Originally Posted by Silentgoldfish

Arbitrary standards of normal? We're talking an extra finger, not small breasts.

A functional extra finger is pretty minor in the overall scheme of things, and in my opnion (that is the name of the forum, right? "In My Humble Opinion"?) is about as debilitating/deforming as being left handed, having a prominent hooked nose, unusually large ears, or yes, unusually small breasts in a woman. It's unusual and statistically abnormal, but it's not something I feel justifies a rush to surgery and "fixing" the kid.

I'm also against routine circumcism and piercing the ears of infants - permanent alteration of the body of someone who is unable to give consent is just not OK in my ethics, not without some very strong justification.

As I also said, if there is a functional problem surgery might be entirely justified, but even then, there's not a hurry. However, for normal (if overabundant) bodyparts I don't feel the benefits outweigh the risks. Later in life, when the child grows up and is able to express his/her personal wishes then it's time to talk about what would be, for a functional extra digit, cosmetic surgery. Not everyone with polydactyly wants to be "fixed", after all.

[Silentgoldfish]

Originally Posted by Broomstick

A functional extra finger is pretty minor in the overall scheme of things, and in my opnion (that is the name of the forum, right? "In My Humble Opinion"?) is about as debilitating/deforming as being left handed, having a prominent hooked nose, unusually large ears, or yes, unusually small breasts in a woman. It's unusual and statistically abnormal, but it's not something I feel justifies a rush to surgery and "fixing" the kid.

Except it's an extra finger. So more like a third ear, a second nose or a third breast. It's really apples and oranges as far as cosmetic surgery goes.

[Alias]

I knew a girl in high school who had six functioning fingers on each hand. She seemed to like it, and the rest of us thought it was really awesome.

[Frank]

Originally Posted by cerberus

More about the syndromes assocaited with polydactyly:

cerberus, would you please cite your source, and assure me that this lengthy post is not a copyright violation? Thanks.

[AskNott]

Guitar Player magazine once had a picture on the cover of bluesman Hound Dog Taylor's six-fingered hand. I suppose he could play things nobody else could play. Polydactylity could well be a gift, not a defect. Not many people can tick off January through December on their fingers without starting over at November.

[Jeep's Phoenix]

If it's a functioning finger, I would leave it alone. Just make sure there are no underlying DNA issues, and don't let the doctors convince you surgery is needed to make the child "normal." Cosmetic surgery of this nature -- in other words, surgery performed in the absence of a real problem -- should wait until your child is able to express his own feelings about what he is most comfortable with.

[danceswithcats]

My vote is with the "if functional, let it be" group. It's not at all uncommon among cats.

[Lucretia]

Another vote for let it be if it's functional, and doesn't interfere with his development. It's his finger, after all, and if it's not hurting him, he should have a say in what happens to it.

[SmartAleq]

Yet another for leave it alone if it ain't hurting anything--diversity is fun!

[cerberus]

It's a mix of Googlefu searches. I'm not aware of any copyright infringement, as the bulk of such information is available as information from medical advocacy sites.

[Frank]

Originally Posted by cerberus

It's a mix of Googlefu searches. I'm not aware of any copyright infringement, as the bulk of such information is available as information from medical advocacy sites.

In general, web sites copyright their contents. For this time, I'll assume it's fair use, especially since you used the plural, but in future for this sort of thing, please provide the links to the sites from which you pull the information.

[ladybug]

Another vote for keeping the extra finger if its functional. If it doesn't work and interferes with normal function, then I'd consider removal.

Incidentally, am I the only one who squirmed after reading this part of cerberus' link?

Rudimentary digits are generally removed. Simply tying a tight string around the stalk can cause it to fall off in time. (emphasis mine)

I'm having flashbacks of the "Handi-Off" commercial from SNL.

[cerberus]

Affirmative on the sources.

Yes, the tourniquet approach to "amputation lite" is a bit creepy, bu I suppose it's better than garden shears...

snip snip snip

The real issue with polydactyly isn't so much the social implications of being different, but rather the role of polydactyly as a potential marker for serious birth defects.

[pkbites]

So what kind of gift do you give to a kid with 6 fingers?



Firecrackers!

[Marley23]

Originally Posted by Aspidistra

Don't name him Rugen

I'd consider Antonio. [Look closely. He's got 12 and 12, all told.]

[Chotii]

I'd like to expand on my thoughts on necessary vs elective surgeries:

One of my children has undergone 3 major surgeries: The first, at 4 months of age, was open-heart surgery to fix her heart (she was born with multiple deformities of the heart which would have killed her eventually. But they put it off as long as they could, until her health began to fail). She later had a G-tube placed at 6 months of age, and a nissen fundoplication/pyloroplasty done at 15 months of age. All of these were absolutely necessary to sustain life or quantifiable quality of life. Today, she is a healthy child with a lot of scars. We *had* to submit her to the surgeries, or lose her, or subject her to a life so miserable it would have been almost impossible for her to be normal or healthy I am not opposed to necessary surgeries, and we understood the risks inherent to general anaesthesia, not to mention possible long term side-effects of the surgeries themselves (fundoplication itself can cause long-term retching and gagging, decreased motility, and the inability to belch up excess gas).

In our case, it was not hard to choose surgery, because we no other realistic choice. But anaesthesia is dangerous for babies. This is why they try not to do surgery on babies unless it's unavoidable. And this is why routine infant circumcision, which by any objective scientific standard of measure (like cortisol levels in the blood) is excrutiatingly painful, is done without anaesthesia at all, or at best with a local block which is only partially effective. This is for the child's safety. But clearly the child would be safer not cut at all - and that's not even taking into consideration the risk from hospital-acquired drug-resistant infection.

And, to expand on my objection to even the "minor" body alteration of ear-piercing, I've HAD my ears pierced, multiple times (6 each ear). I know exactly how painful it is. And while 'gun'-piercing is faster and less painful than needle-piercing, it's also known to carry more risk of infection. I wound up with recurrent infections in my cartilege piercings, so nasty that I had to take systemic antibiotics, and let the holes healed closed. As an adult I can choose to accept those risks to my health. I *will* not subject my children to those risks (or myself, anymore, geez). When they are old enough to choose those risks for themselves, in full understanding of all possible ramifications....they can make that choice. Their bodies; their choice. Not mine.

I realise this isn't strictly about the concept of a hand that's "different", but on a meta level, one cosmetic body modification is much like another. I would not subject a child to cosmetic body modification of this sort. For something affecting life or quality of life (cleft lip or palate, fused skull bones, heart defect, digestive tract or other organ defect, club foot that will affect normal walking, etc) then you weigh the advantages against the risks, grit your teeth, and pray a lot.

I hope the OP's baby will be just fine. After all, ultrasounds can be inaccurate.

[CrankyAsAnOldMan]

My cousin's baby had an extra digit. What was interesting about her case is that no one noticed at first--the old saw about "counting fingers and toes" doesn't apply, I guess. No one noticed until she was home from the hospital.

Anyway, she had it removed, and as I recall it was no big deal. As others have said, it must depend on what sort of extra digit it is.

[inkleberry]

Eh.

I'd leave it. I doubt insurance would cover the removal (likely to be cosmetic), and there is unlikely to be a compelling medical reason to put your infant through a nasty anasthesia experience.

Take a tip from Microsloth and consider it a feature rather than a bug.

[inkleberry]

Besides, your son is *normal*- the rest of us are the recessive-gene freaks. 6 fingered hands are actually made by dominant genes. They are the evolutionary factory-installed standard for human hands.

And think of the uses!

- a fabulous coke *finger*, not just a nail!
- Great for using on hot dates with the ladies- makes the shocker extra shocking!
- If he's into yarn crafts, it's a thread-holding dream.
- If he chooses a career in the mob, he gets an EXTRA pinkie ring! Like a wiseguy ++.
- Typing at lightning speed!

And I'm sure this is only the tip of the iceburg.

[fifty-six]

Wow!

Thanks for all of the opinions, jokes, snide remarks, experience, and the like Ignorance Fighters. This was much better than I had expected.

I am not overly concerned. My first instinct was to have it removed right away. No anesthesia. I know that seems particularly cruel and the doctors may not even allow it. I just though that the pain would be mixed in with the trauma(?) of birth, and all would be well. And that was only if it looked useless, defective or injury prone. I have to say many replies where along my same line of thinking. I do plan on waiting to have a look at it before making any decisions. I am also much more open to letting it be for a while to see how it develops if the digit is borderline and I am more likly to let my boy grow to an age to weigh in on it himself.

I am also pleased with the post by cerberus. I now have interesting questions to ask the doctors about potential markers. I am not anymore worried about these potential problems than any other rare disease. I just like to ask doctors interesting questions with hopes that I will get a House like response.

Keep fighting the fight...

[Chotii]

If there's one thing I'd like to help you understand, it is this: birth experiences matter. You can't injure an infant and expect it to have no effect whatsoever, no affect on the developing brain, no long term consequences. Doctors USED to say that babies feel no pain, and so did all kinds of cruel things to them without benefit of anaesthesia. Now they know that babies do have a highly developed sense of pain, and that painful experiences do have long-term effects - they permanently alter the development of the brain.

I'll bring up circumcision again , not to harp on it, but because it has been studied extensively, and supernumary digit removal has not. Doctors know that a baby boy cut without anaesthesia will have a much more severe reaction to other kinds of pain (like vaccination pain) for months afterward: something in the brain has been altered. Extrapolate from there: you can't hurt a baby and then say "It doesn't matter, he doesn't remember." Babies do remember, just not like you and me. Their bodies remember: boys who have been cut cannot do certain yoga postures that intact boys can do (I know a woman who is doing her doctoral thesis on this oddity). They've been altered in ways nobody ever thought would happen. And the fact that they cannot access those memories consciously later doesn't mean those memories are not present and having an effect. In other words, you don't know what you might mess up (phantom limb pain? Nerve damage?) so you have to have a really good reason to mess at all. If the finger is a risk to itself, like a dog's dewclaw, then removing it under controlled circumstances before it gets ripped off is understandable. But I'm glad to hear you're going to wait and see.

Also, no doctor would remove an extra digit without proper anaesthesia and you might find yourself reported to Child Protective Services for suggesting it. It's not like cutting the tails off puppies (which is also cruel, and many dog breeders are refusing to do cosmetic alterations to dogs like Great Danes and Dobermans now for that reason).

I learned this much when my daughter was undergoing her ordeals: you can't ask questions you don't know exist. I'm glad we've been able to give you questions to ask, so you and your doctor can cover all possible bases.

[Rilchiam]

Originally Posted by AskNott

Polydactylity could well be a gift, not a defect. Not many people can tick off January through December on their fingers without starting over at November.

[hijack]Actually, everyone can, and with an added benefit as well.

Make your hands into fists and hold them out in front of and away from you. In other words, you should be looking at the backs of your hands, with your knuckles on top. Now count along the hills and valleys, so to speak, of your knuckles, starting at the far left. The knuckles are the months with 31 days, and the gaps between are those with 30 or less.[/hijack]

[Sattua]

Originally Posted by inkleberry

Besides, your son is *normal*- the rest of us are the recessive-gene freaks. 6 fingered hands are actually made by dominant genes. They are the evolutionary factory-installed standard for human hands.

Just because a gene is dominant does not mean it is "normal" or even beneficial. Polydactyly is dominant, but so is bowleggedness, myopia, and some forms of deafness. And if it is dominant, then wouldn't one of the two parents have been polydactyl?

[Anne Neville]

I'll add another vote for leaving it be if it's functional.

I wish I had some extra fingers.

[Whammo]

I could use a couple extra MIDDLE fingers in traffic sometimes.....

[NurseCarmen]

My older brother was born with two thumbs, well, three actually, two on one hand, one on the other. Aside from that, he was and is perfectly normal, and had none of the laundry list from above. It was removed when he was a toddler. We've got some cool pictures. There's a scar on his thumb, and it has a little bit of a curve to it. He says he remembers having it removed and it was traumatic, so don't wait too long.

[Ty Cobb]

My sister's niece has a double big toe (two bones side by side in one wide toe) and they just left it alone. I think they should have fixed it at birth but they couldn't bear the thought. The kid is now entering school and will have to take her shoes of for various activities. I think they should do it now rather than after the others make fun of her.

[jsc1953]

Everything I know about polydactylism is from reading Silence of the Lambs. Apparently, having an extra pinky or thumb is dime-a-dozen (relatively); the really special have extra digits in the middle. And that's what Hannibal Lecter had.