Can I keep my thumb when my baby’s congenital floating finger won’t show bunionization?

One of the parents who recently inquired about the floating finger hemi-metacarpal bone grafting for reconstruction of the fifth finger said that for a long time after the birth of their child, they didn’t know what happened to their child’s finger, and they didn’t know where to find a doctor even if they wanted to, and then they found out that it was called the floating finger. Because they thought that the floating finger was a congenital deformity, and they were afraid that it would not be good for the child to undergo surgery when he was older, they had been looking for a treatment plan since the child was one month old. He had been to many hospitals, but the doctors’ recommendations were basically bunionization. The parents were reluctant to do bunionization for fear that their child would be discriminated against and carry a heavy psychological burden for the rest of his life, but after reading about the surgical plan of hemimetacarpal bone graft reconstruction, the parents came to me. This child is a two-handed floating finger, like this child, as long as our energy allows, the child’s physical condition allows, we usually operate at the same time, because if one hand is done and then do the other hand, firstly, the child’s one-handed operation will be more troublesome, and secondly, the cycle of treatment will be very long, so we hope that the two hands at the same time surgery, so that the second phase of the functional reconstruction at the same time after the functional exercise can be started, which is better for both the child and the parents. This is better for both the child and the parents. The role of parents is very important in the treatment of floating fingers, and we have seen that many parents have a very hard time, especially after the first surgery, when there is more wrapping and the wound has not grown well. There is another stage where the parents’ task is also more arduous, that is, the time of postoperative functional exercise. Only when the parents actively encourage and guide the child to perform the correct functional exercise, the child’s thumb will function well, and he or she will not only be able to grasp big things, such as sticks, balls, etc., but also small things, such as peanuts, red beans, and so on. We generally recommend that the child undergoes hemimetacarpal graft reconstruction surgery between 6 months and 1 year of age, because this is the stage when thumb function is established. If it is not established at this time, the child will tend to use the pointer finger and the middle finger to do pinching and kneading motions, replacing the thumb function, which will have a certain impact on the metacarpophalangeal joint of the pointer finger over time, and also have an impact on the functional exercise of the thumb reconstruction, because the child will use the pointer finger and the middle finger to pinch and pinch, replacing thumb function. The longer the child pinches with the index and middle fingers, the more difficult it will be to perform postoperative functional exercises, so parents should pay attention to the timing of the treatment of floating finger.