If your kid was born with six toes on each foot...?

Question

....would you have the extra toes removed at birth?

Or would you let this be the kid's decision later on?

My family's been debating that. I was born with extra toes, and they were taken off at birth. I didn't know about this until I was 30, but it explained why my feet look a little funny. My brother says if that happens with his kids, it will be their decision to remove or not remove them.

What would you do? And does that run in your family?

Answer 1

i'd keep em... let the child decide what to do, i would even do that with a child born with both sex organs. i don't want to say ok you are a boy and in 20 years find out he was meant or would have wanted to be a girl

Answer 2

As mentioned polydactylism is not breed specific since it can occur in most any breed or mixed breed for that matter. Genetically it is a simple dominant gene, so that at least one parent has to be poly. It has absolutely nothing to do with inbreeding and is not a genetic defect...although in the eyes of some it may not be pleasing...but genetically is not a defect. The most common breed to express polydactylism is the Maine Coon. The feral populaton from which the Maine Coon was derived is quite common along the eastern seaboard of the United States and Canada....the most common area being the State of Maine...hence the name Maine Coon...where according to some, the poly populaton could have been as high as 40% in years past. The six toes that you mention without a dewclaw is less common than most expressions of polydactylism, but is definelty not rare. The most common form, at least on the front paws is a six digit Maine Coon with an opposable thumb (which they can use to their advanatage), a dewclaw and the standard number of toes (4). Two sources should you like to learn more would be PolyTrak....a database tracking service for the Main Coon poly and MessyBeast which discusses polydactylism in greater detail and is not breed specific. Both sites have lots of pictures.

Answer 3

I'd take them off at birth. Puberty is painful enough, but with six toes? It's better to get the toes removed at birth so when the child grows up they won't remember the process and they won't have any emotional scars from being made fun of. And can you imagine shoe shopping?

Answer 4

Really six toes isn't that bad, I think it should be the child's choice, even though most likely they'll want them removed. But maybe not. And to go off of this, I think circumcision should be the decision of the boy. That's not even a deformation and a lot of dudes have issues with it.

Answer 5

it can run in the family. i personaly wouldnt have their extra toes taken off unless the doctor said they would be useless. if my child had 6 fully functional toes on each foot i woulndt take them off. i would make that their descision. granted they would never wear toe socks and might need a wider shoe it think it would be cool to have extra appendages personaly.

i say it can because i know a kid with 5 fingers and no thumb and his dad has the same thing so.

Answer 6

If I had a child that was born with 6 anything, I would have the extra/unneeded one removed at birth, it's just easier on the child.

Answer 7

I'd leave it up to the orthopedic surgeon. He or she would know the probable impact on walking problems that might arise. From a cosmetic standpoint, it's probably the kind of thing that nobody would notice unless you brought it to their attention.. Now I'm curious...would you be charged extra for a pedicure??

Answer 8

I probably would have them removed.
Put it this way, it might have affected the way you walked, thrown your balance off. Made it hard to find shoes that fit correctly. Who knows.
It would be better to remove them at an early age than when you are 25 and have to learn to walk all over again.

Answer 9

I would've left'em.... Like I tell my 2 boys... you have 10 fingers and 10 toes... my oldest is now on the second hand (6yrs old). I told him when he gets to his 2nd foot, he's old enough to drive. I told him when he's done with all fingers and toes... he's on his own....
So with 2 extra extremities, he'd be with me 2 more years and I wouldve been ok with it.

Answer 10

I think that they should be cut off at birth because after one relizes that they are supposed to only have 5 toes, who would want to have 6? At birth, you just want them to be normal. This is just like saying that if you had conjoined twins by the abdomin that you would wait till they are older to decide if they should be seperated or not. So..really...are you glad that you got your toes removed at birth?