Joined Toes

This condition is the result of incomplete separation of the toes in the uterus and is therefore a congenital or birth defect. It can affect any of the toes but the vast majority are the 2nd and 3rd toes. One or both feet may be involved although for 2-3 syndactly, it is usually on both sides.

   

Click on the image to enlarge.

The amount the toes are joined does vary from simple partially joined to the more complex complete syndactly (as seen below with the big toe). Sometimes the bones inside the toes are also abnormal and it may be necessary to take x-rays where this is suspected as this could affect the surgery.

There are a variety of procedures that can be used to separate the toes depending on the length of the joined skin involved and how pliable the skin is between the toes. In our practice, where necessary we use a skin graft from the side of the ankle to fill in the defect once the toes have been separated. This was used in the case below to separate the big toe and 2nd toe. In these cases there is certainly more scarring, nevertheless the results can be pleasing for the patients who are usually very embarrassed to show their feet and frequently report to us that they "hate" their feet.