Polydactyly (extra fingers or toes)

What is polydactyly?

Some babies are born with extra digits on their hands or feet, these may be fully formed and look just like the others (in which case they're usually surprisingly inconspicuous) or they may be no more than little fleshy stumps.

Causes and risk factors

Polydactyly affects about five babies in every 10,000. It may run in families - if both parents have it there's a one in two chance that their children will be affected. But it may also occur out of the blue. If the child doesn't have any other problems then it's of no risk to the child's physical or mental development, and it's best played down as much as possible, particularly during childhood.

Very occasionally polydactyly is part of an inherited condition such as Laurence-Moon-Bardet-Biedl syndrome (a rare and complicated disorder).

Treatment and recovery

When the child becomes a teenager, worried like all their friends about their appearance, it may become an issue. Extra counselling may help to get it into perspective (as will a sensible, supportive attitude from their parents).

There's one situation in which surgery may be necessary. This is when an extra toe causes problems with getting shoes to fit, and removing the extra toe may be the best solution.