Hearing other children point at the baby's hand and call her a "freak," even if it was just childish talk, was still very painful for the mother. When the grandmother took care of the baby, she would even cover the child's hand with a sleeve-just because the baby had an extra finger on her left hand.
First Visit
This was her second child. Her first child did not have this condition. After the baby was born, the grandmother noticed something unusual while dressing her. At that time, the mother was very confused and didn't know what had gone wrong.
Later, some relatives asked whether she had eaten something inappropriate during pregnancy that caused this.
However, from pre-pregnancy until delivery, the mother had maintained a normal diet, with nothing unusual. There was also no family history of polydactyly on either side, so it was clearly more like an accident.
Even so, the mother sometimes blamed herself, feeling guilty that her child had to endure such comments. Looking at her baby's hand, she and her family made up their minds to find a way to treat her. Although they initially consulted local doctors, they were told to wait until the baby was over one year old for surgery.
But when the baby turned one, they were told to wait longer-that surgery at two years old would be better. The parents couldn't wait any longer, so they decided to travel across provinces to Wuhan. After all, the baby was a girl, and they worried that waiting longer might cause psychological distress as she grew up.
First Visit
When the baby was 1 year and 4 months old, her parents brought her to the clinic. In the waiting hall, the mother saw children from all over the country-some had the same condition as her daughter, while others had more complex cases such as polydactyly of the hands and feet, syndactyly, and floating thumbs.
Before meeting me, the mother was very anxious and believed her child's condition was extremely serious. But after arriving at the clinic, she realized that her baby's case was not unique. There were not only first-time patients but also many follow-up cases, which greatly eased her anxiety.
The extra finger on the baby's left hand was relatively simple in structure, and the surgery would be quite routine.
Preoperative X-ray
At 1 year and 4 months old, the baby was already at a suitable age for surgery. In fact, surgery can usually be considered when a child is 6–8 months old and weighs around 6 kg.
After fully understanding the condition, the parents finally felt less nervous. There was nothing more to worry about-they just needed to wait calmly for the surgery.
When the baby went into surgery, the mother thought she wouldn't cry, because the surgical plan was already clear and she wasn't too worried. However, seeing other parents so nervous, when her daughter actually entered the operating room, she couldn't help but burst into tears.
The surgery went smoothly. Seeing the extra finger gone brought great relief to the mother-the first stage was complete.
9 Months After Surgery
After discharge, the whole family put in great effort into rehabilitation-functional exercises, wearing splints, and applying anti-scar medication.
At first, the child was very uncooperative. Every time it was time for exercises, she would run away, and her parents had to "catch" her. But after some time, she gradually adapted and became more cooperative, and her recovery finally got on track.
In the beginning, when doing passive exercises, the mother felt heartbroken hearing her daughter cry. But this was a necessary process, so the parents strictly followed postoperative care instructions-learning from videos and medical advice how to change dressings, perform exercises, use splints, and apply scar medication. They did everything without missing anything and carried it out very well.
Changes Before and After Surgery
The parents' efforts paid off. The child can now play and use her hand very well, and she has become much more confident. Before, she used to hide her left hand, but now when someone asks about it, she is no longer afraid and can confidently stretch out her hand to show others.
After all the hardship, happiness finally came. Looking at her child's recovered hand, the mother feels much less guilt. Now the baby can confidently stretch out her little hand just like other children. The mother says she never wants her child to go through surgery again-once is enough.