Meet Hong Hong, The Chinese Baby Born With 15 Fingers And 16 Toes

A Chinese baby was born in January 2016 with multiple fingers and toes. He is almost four months old and has 31 fingers and toes.

The baby, named Hong Hong, was born with multiple fingers (15) and toes (16) in Pingjiang County in Hunan province. He also has two palms on each hand but no thumbs.

The Baby With Multiple Fingers And Toes

Hong Hong was diagnosed with polydactylism, a congenital condition that occurs in humans, cats and dogs, CNN reported. Patients like baby Hong Hong generally have multiple fingers and toes. The condition is actually not uncommon and happens in one out of every 1,000 live births. Polydactylism is also usually genetic, similar to the present case.

Sydney Morning Herald stated that the mother of the baby with multiple fingers also have polydactylism. She has six fingers and toes. Hong Hong’s parents were already concerned that he may also inherit the same condition while his mother was still pregnant with him. The prenatal scans did not reveal the abnormalities, so the couple only discovered that Hong Hong had the same condition when he was born.

Medical Response To Polydactylism

The main medical approach in treating a baby with multiple fingers and toes involves surgical removal of the extra digits. However, there are a number of issues in the case of Hong Hong. First, he is still too young to undergo surgery. Second, doctors advised the family that the baby will require the removal of his multiple fingers and toes, as well as the reconstruction of his absent thumbs. Thumbs are important because these are necessary to grasp objects.

According to father of the baby with multiple fingers and toes, surgery can cost as much as $30,000. The couple resorted to crowdfunding online to ask for help in raising money for Hong Hong’s operation. So far, they have raised over $6,000 from online donors. In the meantime, they decided to stop raising funds online due to the mixed reactions they received regarding crowdfunding.

At present, the family plans to return to their home in the city of Shenzhen. CBS News noted that the previous record for the baby born with the most multiple fingers and toes was held by DevendraSuthar of Himatnagar, Gujarat, India since 2014. He is a carpenter with 14 fingers and 14 toes. Devendra shared that the extra digits do not really affect his job, although he has to be very careful when cutting.

More updates and details on the baby with multiple fingers and toes are expected soon.