Newborn with 6 Toes and Some Toes Webbed - How Soon Can Surgery Occur?

Since its mainly cosmetic, I wouldnt worry about it now. Anytime you go under anesthesia there is a risk of death, especially for a baby so young. As long as it is done before kindergarten, should be fine. Socks are a lot cheaper than medical bills anyway. If its something that going to effect babies ability to walk then you would.want to get it done around 1 year old, still a long time away. If it is only cosmetic and isnt going to hinder babys development, I.would wait longer or consider leaving it alone. GL

My son was born with hypospadias and chordee (it's urological) and required surgery. Our doctor did give us a referral right away, which was good because the only pediatric urologist within 100 miles gets quite a few patients and it can take awhile to get an appointment.

He recommended we do the surgery at 6 months. I know there are health reasons the require surgery before 6 months, but the impression I got from him was that if there was no urgent reason to do a surgery, it was best to wait until the child was at least 6 months.

If it were my child I would definitely want it to be corrected. But this isn't life threatening in any way, so there is not real urgency. I believe most doctors want to wait until the child is 6 months because it is safer to use anesthesia. (I think - I don't remember, and I'm definitely no expert.)

I would probably call the ped and see if you can get a referral soon so that you can make an appointment. Keep in mind that your ped might have a reason for waiting. If that's the case, try not to worry about it. I'm sure your child will have the surgery and be just fine!

Remember, surgery in a child is harder on the parents than it is on the child. The kid forgets very quickly. Parents worry. Totally normal! Hang in there :-)

If your Ped and the doctor that delivered her say that its ok to wait, then its ok. Toes really are not needed till she begins to walk. So the surgery can wait till they are at a safer age to be put under, and loose blood. The worst a web-and double toed (Polydactyl) has to worry about is if shoes will fit. MANY people, including celebrities, and politicians have had webbed feet, and extra digits. My daughter was born with a premature, fused skull suture above her eye its called craniosynostosis. We knew from birth that she had it, but we had to wait to see exactly what it was affecting before we could do anything about it. She had to be 4 months old for the CAT scan, and 6 months for the surgery, because a lot of skin and bone would be involved and they bleed a lot. They have to be able to handle transfusions, and blood loss. Unless its an immediate threat. That's the only time they do surgery on babies.

M.:

Welcome to mamapedia!!

I'm sorry - I have not experienced this with my children. I will state that I would get the names and numbers of the pediatric orthopedist NOW so that I can research them and schedule appointments - new patient visits can take up to 2 months to be seen.

Toes are NOT necessary until we start walking. The big toe is needed for balance - I know - funny but it's necessary for balance! Webbed toes? I don't think I would do anything about. That's MY personal thing. But extra toes - yeah - I would talk to at least 3 different surgeons and do my research to find out what each says, their background and experience in doing procedures like this.

Good luck

Great first question......

I'd ask for those names now so that you can make appointments. It might take a while to get in. Are they pediatric orthopedic surgeons?

Are they telling you that there is a syndrome associated with this? They may decide to do genetic testing on the baby to find that out.

If you don't have a children's hospital working with you, you should work on getting that. It's nice that your doctor will provide you with names, but I'd do my own legwork in addition. You need to know the whole picture.

Dawn

I don't know much but I do know that most of these other answers seem highly accurate. My nephew needed surgery as a baby and since it wasn't life threatening they also waiting until about 6 m onths. It must be some major milestone in terms of handling and recovering from surgery. But I'd definitely get the office visits done sooner rather than later so yo're good to go as soon as possible. I also believe that it's best to do surgery when they're as young as possible as they rebound really quickly and have no memory of it. By the time baby is ready to walk his/her feet will be completely healed. I would also correct the webbed toes. Kids are mean and teenagers are worse and since you're already having the surgery for the toe you might as well get it all done at the same time. If you're close to a children's hospital try to have it done there - you want to be certain that you have the best work done on those little feet - they will one day be carrying an adult around!

God Bless you mama - these are the crazy things in life that we deal with. Just love and hug that gorgeous little baby!

Whatever you decide, I would do it before she starts walking. The webbed toes are not really an issue, but the extra toe may be. It might be really difficult to find shows for her.

Polydactyly and webbed/fused digits often signal other genetic disorders. Has your doctor recommended genetic testing to see if there is any other issue you may have to deal with later?

Good luck to you!

We haven't had this issue, but you don't want to do something like this ASAP. You want to wait and talk to the specialists and see if something even needs to be done at all. You may want her to have surgery because you dislike how the feet look, but she's only a month old, doesn't need to walk yet, and the toes might not end up being a problem depending on what the specialists tell you.

I wouldn't be concerned at all about the webbing. One of my girls does have some webbing and it's not noticeable. I might be concerned about an extra toe and how shoes would fit if they're not specially made.

Based on my friends grandson, probably about nine months or so. I would
think the extra big toe would be a problem as he gets older. Webbed toes
not so much, if at all. The doctors will advise. I would just make sure I had
it done at a childrens hospital.

M.,

We are lucky to have Miami Children's Hospital and Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital local here. If you don't like the referrals from your pediatrician, either contact another pediatrician or contact these hospitals directly.

My pediatrican referred us to Dr. Neal Mcnerney at JDCH for another issue and we loved him. Here is his info:

http://www.jdch.com/html/find-a-physician/detail.aspx?id=...

Good luck! C.