What is the reason for six fingers in newborns?

Newborns with six fingers are actually a phenomenon of finger deformity. The occurrence of this problem is closely related to genetic factors or inter-generational inheritance. It may also be caused by some drugs during pregnancy or viral infection trauma.

1. Cause

The cause of the disease is unknown. Most cases are caused by genetic factors and can be inherited from one generation to the next. In addition, the impact of environmental factors on embryonic development can also lead to this disease, such as certain drugs, viral infections, trauma, stimulation from radioactive substances, and especially modern industrial pollution can all become teratogenic factors. Damage to the early differentiation of the limb bud blastema is an important cause of hexadactyly.

2. Clinical manifestations

The disease is obvious at a glance. Children are found to have extra fingers at birth. The types and severity of deformities vary. Some are only connected to normal fingers by a narrow cutaneous pedicle that wraps the blood vessels and nerves; some have nails, bone joints, tendons and blood vessels and nerve bundles, and have certain finger movement and sensory functions, which makes it difficult to choose surgery; some even have severe deformities such as "crab claws", with poor finger development, small and deviated fingers, which seriously affect the appearance and function of the hands. In addition to the physical effects, children and parents often have psychological problems. Psychological concerns will affect the child's psychological development, learning and social life, and even future employment, work and marriage.

3. Treatment

Surgical resection is the only treatment. Sometimes the procedure is simple, requiring only the base of the polyp to be removed and the incision to be sutured; other times it is more complicated, requiring tendon transfer and joint capsule reconstruction. When the polyp occurs in the joint, tendon and joint capsule repair is required, and surgery should be performed before the child is 3 years old; when the polyp occurs in the epiphyseal area, bone and joint correction is required after the polyp is removed, and surgery should be performed after the epiphyseal development stops.