(Small skin grafts are sometimes required.) Simple syndactyly usually just requires cutting the soft webbing tissue in a zigzag pattern, then stitching the skin back together. The good news is that it is highly successful on average-even in more complicated situations. Surgery is the only way to separate toes that are webbed or fused together. Surgery for Webbed Toes Has a Great Track Record for Safety and Success But to help them hit those developmental milestones, it will be important to have their webbed toes corrected before they start standing and walking on their own.
In the rarest cases, entire bones may be missing, or joints are out of alignment.ĭon’t worry-with proper care your child should still learn to walk, run, and play alongside their peers. Usually, this would be in a circumstance where the toes are not just connected by soft and flexible skin, but also by fused cartilage or bone. Once in a while we’ll see a case of webbed toes that we think might impair foot function down the road. More Complicated Cases May Need More Aggressive (and Earlier) Treatment If it isn’t hurting them or affecting their daily lives, there’s no need for fear or worry. Many kids are embarrassed by feet that look different, but others may be proud of something that makes them feel unique! When your child is older, you may let them make the decision about whether they want their webbed toes separated. However, if webbed toes are not causing any symptoms or impairments, it’s fine to wait. As long as your child is healthy and at least a couple of months old, surgery is an appropriate consideration. Many parents still choose to have their child’s webbed toes separated at a very young age anyway, and that’s fine. Those simple syndactyly cases, like we said, should have no bearing on your child’s development whatsoever. Your Child May Not Need Treatment Right Away, or Maybe Even at All It’s very easy for us to correct, and should have no effect on your child’s health, happiness, or development whatsoever. All the individual bones and joints are still there, in the right place and alignment. The vast majority of syndactyly cases (though certainly not all) only involve fusion of skin and soft tissues. Here’s where you can probably breathe a sigh of relief. However, in rare cases harder tissues (such as cartilage or bone) may be fused or irregularly joined. The most common manifestation of syndactyly is partial fusion of soft, flexible tissues and skin between the second and third toes. Maybe only two toes are affected maybe several (or all) of them are. Toes may be partially or completely connected. Webbed toes can take many different forms. There Are Several Different Types of Webbed Toes In other words? You and your baby are definitely not alone. Consider that the state population of California is almost 40 million-that means about 20,000 current Californians (and more than 160,000 Americans!) were born with webbed toes. That’s uncommon, but not really super rare. They Are Relatively Rare-But Probably More Common Than You ThinkĪbout one out of every 2,000 babies is born with webbed toes. If the process is not fully completed (usually due to a simple gene defect), the baby will be born with at least partially webbed toes. However, about six to eight weeks after conception, an enzyme is released that gently dissolves that connecting tissue and separates the fingers and toes.Īt least, that’s the way it’s supposed to work. It’s true! It’s just that for most of us, the webbing goes away long before birth.ĭuring the earliest stages of fetal development, all five digits on each hand and foot are connected by soft tissue. Here’s what you need to know about this condition. While new parents are understandably concerned about any physical “defects” their child may have, most cases of webbed toes are nothing to worry about. That’s what we’d like to talk about today. In other cases, all 10 toes might be present, but two or more of them appeared “webbed” or fused together ( syndactyly). Some babies are born with extra toes ( polydactyly), which you can read a little bit more about here.
Well, what happens when you arrive at a number other than 10 of each? What’s one of the first things most new parents do after holding their newborn for the first time? (Besides smiling, laughing, and crying tears of joy all at once, of course?)
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