Extra digit...wwyd?

ameh13

Just wondering your thoughts...LO was born with what we thought originally was a skin tag. I noticed it was getting bigger so our pedi referred us to a hand surgeon. Turns out it is an extra digit that never fully developed (I always had a feeling it was). It's on his left hand and small, but will grow proportionately with the size of his hand. It's small enough I can't find a pic that it is noticeably visible in. Doc said it won't hurt him or really bother him unless he ends up a leftie, but all I can think of is mean kids making fun of his sixth finger. He's obviously an overachiever, and wanted to be special w this extra finger...so my question is- would you do the surgery now to remove it, or wait until it possibly becomes an issue? It will require him to have general anesthesia:(. TIA!

BabyShanteau

I think I'd go ahead and do it now.

sheacox

if you were going to get it removed I would do it now... the smaller it is the less impact it will be. plus being so young he will never remember. less stress on him

NicoleReed0324

I would also do it now. It will be sad but he won't remember. And I would think the sooner the better. You're right, kids are mean, I would get it removed.

Cricket81

My friend's son was born with an extra thumb on one hand. They waited until he was one and then had it removed. His had bones and everything, so it required general anesthesia which is why they waited the year. Now you'd never know it was there.

ameh13

I hate to put him under general, but I have been leaning that way too. It sucks bc our medical bills are so high from my csection and mfm visits and we have another 3k deductible to worry about for him. Crappy insurance. But you ladies just made me realize one day he will know what is going on and that would be so much worse...

ameh13

@cricket81 they are saying he will need general too since he doesn't know how to stay still long enough to remove it. Do you know why their doc said to wait until one year?

phishgirl29

My friends little girl had an extra toe and they made her wait until she was one as well before it could be removed.

phishgirl29

Burp.

mrsmichigander

For general anesthesia, I'd wait until his little body was older but before it's a social issue ...so probaby around school age.

Just having my wisdom teeth out they were required to explain all the risks of anesthesia, including death..freaks you out to hear in such a textbook procedure. Even though it's rare, as long as it's not causing issues, there's no way I'd want to put LO out this young while still in such a critical stage of development.

ChristyD6

I would get it removed whenever the doc determined he could safely handle surgery.

ameh13

Hmm....sounds like a year would be better. I'll have to call the surgeon and discuss more. I really want to say thanks to you all. My husband and I kinda wrote it off after the surgeon said it would be a cosmetic thing, but you all made me realize I am not nuts for wanting it removed for him to be comfortable as he grows up. Seriously, thanks!

No longer the best

@ameh13 I would probably get it removed but I would wait a bit as well (or whatever the doctor recommends).

But I just wanted to say that I saw your pic of him is sooooo cute! 

ameh13

@No longer the best Thank you!!! I'm so excited I finally have a pic in my siggy!

ilovemarfa

Honestly, if it were me I wouldn't get it done until he was much older. Surgery scares me and I wouldn't want my young baby undergoing a cosmetic procedure so young. My friends boy was born with half an arm and on that arm he had little fingers. The surgeon recommended removal as he will most likely get a prosthetic arm at some point but he sad he wouldn't do the removal until at least 3.

RIngReady

Remove it now. I actually was born with a second thumb on my right hand. My parents had it removed at 8 months and you could stare at my thumb for hours and not know anything was there. 

I happen to know another girl, whose parents waited to have her second thumb removed until she was older (like 2.5 ish) and she has some loss of sensation in her hand where it was removed, and the scarring is much more noticeable. 

Yes the surgeon's skills make a difference, but younger kids also heal faster and better.

..and for the record...people born with extra digits ROCK!!!! 

ameh13

@RIngReady heck yeah!!!

costa2011

I would do it now before it might pose a problem.

ameh13

micabush said:

Is it just skin or does it have bone? My friends son was a polydactyl. They just tied a suture around it very close to his hand and it fell off. One hand you can't tell at all. The other has a little bump, but nothing obvious. His was just skin and tissue, no bones.

They said the bone would be so small, if there is one, that it wouldn't affect the surgery. The reason they want to put him under to cut and stitch it is because there is a blood supply. At least that's what it sounded like to me. They said it would only take a couple stitches, and a week of bandaging it to heal.

ASmallWonder

Add me to the camp of waiting a little longer but then going for it after he's 1 or so.  I imagine the bigger it gets the more invasive the surgery becomes and the worse the scar potential is.