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A question relating to thumbs

talknerdy2metalknerdy2me member
in Parenting

Thumb Duplication - Has anyone heard of this before?  DS has two thumb bones on his right thumb.  It looks like he has only one thumb; it's just bigger than normal, basically.  He sees a surgeon periodically to make sure that, as he grows, the thumb continues to develop correctly (or, rather, as correctly as it can).

It hasn't ever seemed to cause DS any pain, and he appears to be using it normally.  The surgeon said that the most common reason for surgery is because the extra bone makes the thumb look abnormal.

So, Parenting, my question is: would you have the extra bone removed?

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Re: A question relating to thumbs

  • quidditchcapn1120quidditchcapn1120 member
    It depends on a lot of things for me. I would wait to see if that becomes his dominant hand. If it is, I wouldn't mess with it as there are significant risks to hand surgery that could interfere with career choices later in life. Even if it is not his dominant hand, unless it was causing significant distress to my child or he was unable to interact socially because it was debilitating to his self esteem, I wouldn't mess with it. Of course, other factors come into play, but I wouldn't solely do it for esthetics.
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  • Ms5586Ms5586 member
    At this age, no, I wouldn't.  As long as he can use it normally.  I'd leave the decision to him when he's older. 
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  • Ms5586Ms5586 member

    imagequidditchcapn1120:

    OMG your siggy - I'm dying at the twins. 

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  • NotSharknadoNotSharknado member
    For cosmetic purposes, no. Ds got his finger caught in the door and it severed the top of his finger off. After surgery everything still works but it looks a little odd. As he gets older, if it bothers him, we will look into cosmetic surgery.
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  • talknerdy2metalknerdy2me member

    DH and I have agreed that the game plan is not to have the bone removed (the specialist recommended waiting until 4 years of age if we wanted it removed, as a two year old with stitches is a bad idea unless absolutely necessary).  When Bug is older, if he decided he would like it corrected, we would talk about it at that time.

    Some I've talked to are surprised that we aren't correcting it while he is young, which, in turn, surprised me.  DH and I think he might be able to put a wicked curve on a baseball but also realize he may be teased about it as he grows older.  Thanks for the input!

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