Webbed toes

Webbed toes
Specialty	Medical genetics

The feet of a gull showing webbed toes.

Webbed toes is the common name for syndactyly affecting the feet. It is characterised by the fusion of two or more digits of the feet. This is normal in many birds, such as ducks; amphibians, such as frogs; and mammals, such as kangaroos. In humans it is considered unusual, occurring in approximately one in 2,000 to 2,500 live births.

There are various levels of webbing, from partial to complete. For example, the rare Hose's Civet, a viverrid endemic to northern Borneo, has partially webbed feet. Most commonly the second and third toes are webbed or joined by skin and flexible tissue. This can reach either part way up or nearly all the way up the toe.

Diagnosis

This condition is normally discovered at birth. If other symptoms are present, a specific syndrome may be indicated. Diagnosis of a specific syndrome is based on family history, medical history, and a physical exam. Webbed toes are also known as "twin toes," "duck toes," and "tiger toes."

Cause

The exact cause of the condition is unknown. In some cases, close family members may share this condition. In other cases, no other related persons have this condition. The scientific name for the condition is syndactyly, although this term covers both webbed fingers and webbed toes. Syndactyly occurs when apoptosis or programmed cell death during gestation is absent or incomplete. Webbed toes occur most commonly in the following circumstances:

• Syndactyly or Familial Syndactyly
• Down syndrome

It is also associated with a number of rare conditions, notably:

• Aarskog–Scott syndrome
• Acrocallosal syndrome
• Apert's syndrome
• Bardet-Biedl syndrome
• Carpenter syndrome
• Cornelia de Lange syndrome
• Edwards syndrome
• Jackson-Weiss syndrome
• Fetal hydantoin syndrome
• Miller syndrome
• Pfeiffer syndrome
• Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome
• Timothy syndrome

Consequences

Webbed toes in humans are a purely cosmetic condition. This condition does not impair the ability to perform any activity including walking, running, or swimming.

People with webbed toes may have a slight disadvantage for activities that benefit from prehensile toes.

Webbed toes eliminate the possibility of athlete's foot infections in the affected areas.

Psychological stress may arise from the fear of negative reactions to this condition from people who do not have webbed toes. This may lead some individuals to become extremely self-conscious about their feet and go to great lengths to hide them. They may avoid open-toed footwear and activities such as swimming where their feet may be seen. Others are very proud of their webbed toes and often wear uncovered toe gear to show off their unique toe structure.

Surgery

Partial simple syndactyly before surgery

Partial simple syndactyly, 4 months post-op

Webbed toes can be separated through surgery. Surgical separation of webbed toes is an example of body modification.

As with any form of surgery, there are risks of complications.

The end results depend on the extent of the webbing and underlying bone structure. There is usually some degree of scarring, and skin grafts may be required. In rare instances, nerve damage may lead to loss of feeling in the toes and a tingling sensation. There are also reports of partial web grow-back. The skin grafts needed to fill in the space between the toes can lead to additional scars in the places where the skin is removed.

Famous webbed feet

• Dan Aykroyd – Canada, actor
• Tricia Helfer - Canada, actress
• Jacqui Hurley - Ireland, sports broadcaster
• Ashton Kutcher - United States, actor
• Joseph Stalin – Soviet Union, General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union

Further reading

• Man LX, Chang B (2006). "Maternal cigarette smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of having a child with a congenital digital anomaly". Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. 117 (1): 301–8. doi:10.1097/01.prs.0000194904.81981.71. PMID 16404282. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)