Clinodactyly is a congenital condition where the pinky finger bends towards the ring finger due to a smaller finger bone not developing properly. It can be associated with other congenital conditions, such as Down syndrome, and may require surgery for correction.
Clinodactyly is a congenital condition that can affect about one in 100 people. It is a failure for a smaller finger bone to develop properly. This creates a scenario where the pinky or little finger points and bends towards the ring finger. The degree to which this affects function varies in each case, and some people may have this slight malformation and never require correction.
As stated earlier, clinodactyly is congenital, meaning it is present at birth. It can occur when certain other congenital conditions are present. For example, people with Down syndrome are much more likely to have clinodactyly. It also seems to occur more often in males than females. It should be noted that having the condition does not necessarily mean having Down syndrome, but its presence is usually an indication that a child should be thoroughly tested for the syndrome as well as for other illnesses that the condition may be presenting with.
It is not always possible to tell how severe the onset of a case of clinodactyly will be. This is because changes to the bones as a child grows can make the condition worse. Sometimes in the onset, there is such severe inward bending that surgery to create better function may be recommended immediately. Other times, doctors take an on-call approach and wait and only recommend surgery if it’s needed later. Unfortunately, in childhood, a single surgery does not guarantee that the problem will be corrected. As children continue to grow, more surgeries may need to be performed. On the other hand, some people have no surgical correction for this condition.
Surgery for clinodactyly can take many forms and can be performed by hand surgeons or frequently by plastic surgeons. The knuckle bone of the finger, which is usually deformed or misoriented, is removed completely or partially to stop the curvature. After surgery, a cast or special guard is worn on the hand until complete healing has occurred. Frequently, children have this condition to the same extent in both hands, called bilateral clinodactyly. This would mean having both hands out of action for a while after surgery, although sometimes doctors prefer to do one hand at a time so a patient isn’t much disturbed.
This hand defect is commonly considered to be minor, and there are many other defects that can be more noticeable and extensive. However this does not mean that evidence of clinodactyly should be ignored. If a parent sees signs of inward bending of the little finger, this should at least be cause for control or observation.
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