This is actually his Right hand because we forgot to take a picture of his fused fingers before surgery. His Left had was exactly the same and you will see the results following.
3 weeks after surgery. He had a cast on for three weeks and it was removed to reveal his healing and separated fingers.
Five weeks after surgery.
Seven Weeks post surgery
The last two pictures were taken 6 months after surgery. They are completely healed and have no problems. His ring finger is still stuck in position but both fingers are now as strong as they were prior to surgery. He really enjoys the extra mobility and ability to use two instead of one finger. He was treated at Children's Hospital of Los Angeles and had a very positive experience there. I hope this helps at least one family who is worried about this particular surgery.
Hello my name is Sarah Dartnell my daughter Michaela has two fingers joined together and is on the waiting list to have them seperated,we have been really worried about making the right choice as she is just 8 months old ,it brought me to tears to see the photos you have shared and I can't tell you how grateful I am that you did,
ReplyDeleteThese photos give me an idea of what to expect
Thanks so much
,we are in Melbourne Australia :)
Hi Sarah...I am so glad you were encouraged by the photo's. Andrew was reluctant at first to show them but he was willing so that someone may be encouraged. If you have any other questions just let us know. By the way...he loves that his fingers are now separated.
ReplyDeleteHis hands look amazing in the last couple photos! I'm so thankful when I find blogs that have information and photos about syndactyly. There are so few!
ReplyDeleteMy 4 month old has the same type of syndactyly as Andrew! Though he doesn't have oligodactyly.
If you want to see his hands (maybe Andrew would) you can see my syndactyly blog posts at:
http://www.mysweetchaos.com/search/label/Syndactyly%20Type%20III
I try to share pictures of my son's hands and our journey (we're at the start, my son's surgery will be in the next month or two) for other moms who have babies/children with this condition. It's nice to connect with those dealing with the same thing :)
By the way, Andrew's scarring looks amazing. I've seen some kids who get raised, bumpy scars (I can't remember the real term for them), Andrew's look smooth and flat! :)
Oh and you can thank him from me for being so brave to share. It really does help other moms and kids. There are many people out there with syndactyly and oligodactyly but it's hard to connect with them outside of finding each other on the internet! :)