An online resource for families and friends of children with limb differences.
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alicia
Member
Just out of curiousity. Who didn't get surgery and kept his/her (childs) floating/hypoplastic thumb.
Because when I was born nobody had ever seen something like it, so there was nothing to do about it, and that's only 24 years ago. At age 9 a specialist talked for the first time about pollicization to my parents but he also said that there were still a lot of risks for this operation... So... I kept my little thumb ;-).
sara
Member
My daughter was born in October 2009 and has a hypoplastic right thumb. They aren't sure yet if she has muscle/tendons, etc. It doesnt seem to move at all. Has it affected the use of your hand? Can you still grab, write, etc. Just curious of what I should expect.
Thanks
alicia
Member
I feel like I have 99% of fonction on my right hand (with the little thumb ;-) and even think I'm right handed. I use my left hand to write and use scissors, but use my right to cut with a knife, take a cup,... I can write also with my right hand, but not that fast. The 1% I'm missing is not being able to tell somebody 'two thumbs up' and I'm not a very good hitchhiker ;-).
No matter what you choose for your daughter, without even realizing it, she will adapt. I cannot remember that I really had to think a lot before I figured out how to manipulate something, for me it all went really fluently. I hope this helps.
sara
Member
Alicia:
Thanks for the info. Sorry for all of the questions, but I am trying to understand all of this. Can you move your thumb? It seems that my daughter cannot move her actual thumb but does have muscle and movement at the base of the thumb.
alicia
Member
I have the floating thumb. No muscles, no fonction, my thumb is 'just' hanging there or chilling a little bit.
herb9746
Member
Hi my son was born with hypoplastic right thumb. he just had the pollicization surgery to correct it and we just had the pin out almost 2 weeks ago. he had no tendons, no ligaments and was also missing the metacarple bone for the thumb. his new thumb looks great and you would never know it used to be his index finger. he is going through pt/ot now to learn how to use it.
Marissa
Member
Hi
I was born in 1987 with two floating thumbs, one on each hand. My parents decided to do the pollicization on my left hand and nothing on my right (this decision was made because the left thumb was very underdeveloped). I am now 23 years old and don't have too much trouble with most tasks. Because the anomaly affects both of my hands, I think it has been a little more difficult for me than for others who have one "normal" hand. Either way, you make it work and learn to do things effectively without thumbs. I hope this helps and would be happy to discuss it further.
DCmommy
Member
I have a 3 year old daughter who has bilateral hypoplastic thumbs. Her right one is nearly normal in appearance and use, but she is missing the thenar muscle so it is weak. Her left one is smaller, misplaced (really close to her index finger) and very weak. She has all the joints, but is also missing muscles there. The surgeon wanted to do immediate surgery on both when she was 18 months old. We declined at that time. She is extremely functional and seems to not even notice any difference from other kids. However, we are noticing more disformity in the left hand and weaknesses in the left hand as she is getting bigger. We are very concerned about the surgery and are looking for information from those who have had it done and those who have not. She would need to have the mm from the outside of the palm placed where the thenar mm should have been and web widening on the left hand. Thank you!!
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