“My nephew is born with webbed hands. At what age can he do his surgery?”
My nephew is a few months old and was born with webbed hands. At what age can a surgeon perform surgery on his hand?
8 Answers
I would consult a hand surgeon at 6 months
I think it is important to have a consultation at this age, but most surgery can be delayed until the baby is older and larger, typically after one year of age. X-rays and clinical examination will determine if it is a simple syndactyly (just soft tissue connections) or a complex (bony) syndactyly. It is important for the physician to evaluate for other associated medical issues that can be seen with "webbed fingers" and also note that is more crucial to separate the border digits (i.e., ring and small and thumb and index) first as the shorter digits can tether the neighbor digit. Also, note that if there are more than two digits involved it will be done in stages and may require skin grafting.
Depends on which fingers are involved.
The middle-ring web space and ring-small web space are the most commonly involved. Usually we wait until at least 1 year and sometimes up to 2 years before releasing the middle -ring web space, because there is no difference in length of the 2 fingers and there is less chance of the webbing recurring. For ring-small web space, watch for any flexion of the shorter small finger. If so, may need to release between 6 months and 1 year. If the thumb is involved, may need to release between 3-6 months.
The middle-ring web space and ring-small web space are the most commonly involved. Usually we wait until at least 1 year and sometimes up to 2 years before releasing the middle -ring web space, because there is no difference in length of the 2 fingers and there is less chance of the webbing recurring. For ring-small web space, watch for any flexion of the shorter small finger. If so, may need to release between 6 months and 1 year. If the thumb is involved, may need to release between 3-6 months.
Surgery for webbed fingers (Syndactyly releases) used to be done ideally at about 6 - 12 months of age. Recent research has shown that having anesthesia prior to the age of 1 year can be associated with an increased incidence of ADHD later in life. Depending on which fingers are involved with the webbing, we often wait now until between 1 and 2 years of age for corrective surgery.
Usually after the age of one year unless there are special circumstances. If and when the webbed fingers start to show compromise such as crookedness, they should be released.
Typically surgery is performed after 12 to 24 months of age.
Typically at one year of age, but earlier (6 months) if the webbing or attachment is at the finger tips and causes one finger to affect the other more significantly. The most common web is in the middle and ring finger and is skin only, but there are many variations.
That would be up to your hand surgeon however, generally after one year of age.
