Comments on: Chop extra baby fingers, toes, tails?

By: Alexandra Perez

Alexandra Perez — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 21:10:28 +0000

Hi, my baby girl was also born with 12 fingers and 12 toes but not fully developped they attach to the little ones. However, in my family we had the fingers but not the toes. My husband and i have decided to have them remove soon. The baby is only 6 months old. What do u think we should do.

By: JOY PROX

JOY PROX — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 23:29:11 +0000

I HAD A BABY THAT HAD EXTRA FINGERS AND ONE EXTRA TOE. IT RUNS IN MY FAMILY AND I HAD THEM BUT THE DOCTOR CUT THEM OFF. MY FOUR MONTH OLD STILL HAS THEM BUT I AM GOING TO HAVE THEM REMOVED.

By: i am one of them

i am one of them — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 04:27:32 +0000

i was one of those born with both 6 fingers and 6 toes…it came from my german mothers ancestry…my father treated it as an embarrassment even tho he was quiet about it…knowing growing up i was a “freak” i mostly kept to myself…now that i`m older i`ve learned thru the birth of my children that “freak” lineage ended with me ,thankfully. to this day , even when corrected, i never remove my socks in public or in front of anyone not even my wife. to be this different really blows.

By: Izzy

Izzy — Mon, 18 May 2009 17:11:56 +0000

I have an extra thumb on my right hand.(with bone and finger nail) My parents didn’t want it removed when i was a baby because they think that’s since it’s my finger they want me to decide whether i want it removed or not. And i do get teased sometimes at school, and i remember one time, got home crying and told my mom that i want it removed ‘immediately!’ lol. Well I’m 22 years old now, i still have my extra thumb. It doesn’t cause me any harm or anything other then on and off joint pain. But other than that, it doesn’t bother me that much. Until this day I’m still conflicted on whether i should have the surgery or not.

By: Sarah

Sarah — Fri, 08 May 2009 01:25:28 +0000

Hi I have recently had a son who was born with 6 functioning fingers on each hand and six fuctioning toes on each foot and my partner and I are unsure of what do at the moment so if anyone else has been through this I would love to hear about it.

By: Christy B.

Christy B. — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 19:47:08 +0000

Extra digits are fine and dandy, but apparently if you have a tooth growing out of your gum, you get married off to the neighbor’s dog so you won’t be attacked by wild animals. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29259293/

By: Nancy Reed

Nancy Reed — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 03:30:12 +0000

I think I am uniquely qualified to weigh in here. I was born with six functioning toes on each foot. I had the extras removed when I was four (my parents went back and forth on it until then). It was never viewed as a negative in my family, in fact I can still remember counting my toes and coming up with twelve. :) However, I’m glad they are gone, because even though I have narrow feet, the “pinky” toe always rubs up against the sides of my shoes. Finding shoes would be impossible if I still had the extra toes. I still have the scars and pictures to remember them by, and I get all the fun of telling the story without actually having to deal with the complications.

When my daughter was born, the first thing out of my mouth was “How many toes?” as I have heard polydactylism can be hereditary. (She had ten.) If she had extra toes, I’d look into removing them too. Fingers would be a bit trickier I think, especially if the “extra” is in the middle of the hand instead of the outside (ie two pinkys).

So that’s my two cents (two toes? :) )

By: Nicki

Nicki — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 14:41:01 +0000

Sorry, but a tail would probably have to go. The poor kid would be called monkey, dog, anything. A doomed social life for sure.

Now extra fingers, however, would probably be considered fun. Expecially if the child himself had a positive outlook on them. If he hides them from everybody and is embarrased, then he’s definitely going to get teased. I they were functional I think I might wait until my child was old enough to decide on his own. If they weren’t functional I’d have them removed. (I have 2 friends who were born with extra fingers.)

Extra toes will definitely make shoe shopping a chore. So, I can’t say for sure, but I’d probably nix them, too.

By: Pippin

Pippin — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 04:46:45 +0000

When my husband and I saw the news story, he started quoting The Princess Bride too.

As a musician (guitar, mandolin, bass, other strings, and flute), I would LOVE an extra functional digit. It might have helped my poor piano playing too.

A tail though? You aren’t the only one who had that discussion with your spouse while your child was in utero. (That, coupled with your movie pop culture bits make me think you and your wife would get along well with my family). Somehow a tail just makes me all squicky. It would definitely get the axe. Or scalpel, I guess.

A really good book to read is “Geek Love” by Katherine Dunn. I think you might find it interesting.

By: Carrie

Carrie — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 02:38:31 +0000

When I delivered this past spring, the pediatrician at the hospital told us she sees babies with extra fingers or toes about once a week. I was shocked, but it’s apparently not that unusual. Most parents opt to have them removed, but it’s considered lucky in some cultures apparently.