Six Toes

[Eviemaysmum]

My daughter, now 10 months old, has an extra toe on her left foot - apparently this is called being polydactyl. We have seen a plastic surgeon and he said she can have an operation to have it removed when she is a year old. He said there would be no problems for her if we left it, apart from getting footwear to fit. Does anyone else have experience of this? I really don't want to have it removed as I don't want to put her through an operation with general anaesthetic for something that is not necessary. Also, I feel that it is part of her. What I want to know is, how easy/difficult/expensive is it to get specially made shoes, and will the NHS pay for this? I am getting a lot of pressure from in-laws to have the operation, but it totally goes against my gut instincts. Also I was told by an Indian lady that the extra toe will bring us luck.

My neice had 6 fingers. In fact they did have the 6th finger removed when she was v small - I thik it was a v minor procedure.

But, like you, I would be v v reluctant to have a toe removed unless it caused discomfort or problems walking.

WHY do people think everyone should be the same, and have bits chopped off to achieve confoprmity??

Sorry - can't answer your q's about shoes, but v wide fittings are available in some ranges, anyway.

Friend of mine's dd had this. The outer little toe was floppy - not functional. It was squashed over the other toes and she could not wear normal shoes easily. They had it removed at about 2 years and her other toes are fine. Recovered quickly from op.
Ask the surgeon about anything you are concerned about and about the consequences in the long term if not done. You need to think of what it will be like for her in the future - will 6 toes be a pain for walking/getting shoes/self-image or not? Find out more about the op and expected recovery before you make your decision. My friend found decision tough, but they are glad they did it.
All the best.

Evie - I think whether it will just happen to be an extra toe, or whether it will cause pain and difficulty is the main factor.
I wouldn't take the actual operation as a big deciding factor - My DS had 4 GAs when he was 10 - 14 months old, and it was fine, fine, fine. I would guess that it would be a v minor operation.

I have friends who have had their dc's extra toe and finger digits removed, a very simple/quick op no complications etc.

As an adult with nightmare shaped feet needing to wear custom built insoles etc I would strongly recommend getting them removed for purely practical reasons, I basically have to wear boots, trainers or birkenstocks.

Hello! Another mother of a many toed child.. dd1 has 12- extra little toes on each foot. We were referred to a consultant within the first few months and scheduled for the op around a year. Then followed a nightmare series of 5 operation cancellations due to various ear and chest infections, 3 of which were cancelled on the morning of the op, when we were in the ward having travelled out of county etc etc. the last one I was heavily pregnant and they had already numbed dd1 hand to put the drip in etc when they decided she had a cough and better to cancel. Was so hyped up and emotional that we just told them to take us off the list until dd2 arrived. Anyway since then we have had a think about it and are not in a rush. Shoes are more difficult in that I have to look for ones that have soft leather at the sides so that they give and dont rub, but have always managed to find something in clarks. She is now 3 and a half and too old to be just rushed through the op without explanation and too young to understand why on earth we would bother. Our plan now is to see how she gets on at school and take it from there. It has not slowed her down in any way. I think it is a simple operation and in our case would have been under and hour but I still know how anxious it can make you, particularly as it is non essential - difficult choice!

not much help, but a really really big star of indian cinema, we are talking brad pitt here, has two thumbs on one of his hands.
and he si super rich mega celebrity fantastic actore. etc.
hrithik roshan

Just wandered off to find out if the marilyn monroe 6 toes rumour was true, seems probably not, but 6 toes appears to do wonders for your tennis..
tennis

DS has 9 toes and LOVES being able to say triumphantly when people talk about 'ten fingers and toes' "how many fingers and toes am I holding up?" and he holds up his foot and some fingers, and then shouts "WRONG!" with glee.

Go on the 'will it cause discomfort / significant practical problems in the future?' question.

Thanks for your help everyone - Cathpot, really interested to read your message as I've never met any other people with extra toes! I love the picture of Sharapova's foot. I'm now thinking I will wait and see, as you say your dd is 3 now without any problems. We have another appointment with the specialist soon, so will discuss the discomfort and shoes issue then. Good to know you have managed to get shoes ok in Clarks so far though

Did you notice the date on the Sharapova story? (1 April 2006) Shame. It looked so normal in the picture.