Thumb hypoplasia
Thumb hypoplasia, also commonly called hypoplastic thumb, means that a child's thumb is unusually small or underdeveloped. Thumb aplasia means that your child’s thumb is missing altogether.
In general, there are five types of thumb hypoplasia or aplasia:
1. Your child’s thumb is slightly smaller than normal, but all of its structures — the bones, tendons, ligaments, muscles, and joints — are normal.
2. Your child’s thumb is small and there are often minor abnormalities in the tendons and muscles within the thumb.
3. There are abnormalities in many of the thumb's muscles along with a range of problems in the joints of the thumb and an abnormal tight web space between the thumb and index finger.
4. Your child’s thumb is "floating" with no bony support and is attached to the hand by only skin and soft tissue
5. Your child’s thumb is missing.
Researchers still haven’t discovered the exact cause of this condition. Rarely this could be part of a group of conditions known as syndromes. Some of the associated syndromes are given below.
- VACTERL association.
- Thrombocytopenia - absent radius syndrome.
- Holt - Oram syndrome.
- CHARGE syndrome.
- Fanconi anemia.
It’s rare, occurring in about 1 out of every 100,000 babies.
- It can occur by itself or may be associated with other conditions where the radial side (thumb side) of the forearm does not develop properly.
- These include Holt-Oram and Fanconi syndromes.
- It’s also routinely seen with radial longitudinal deficiency.
In some cases, both the right and left hands may be affected.
Because of the reduced functionality of your child’s thumb, they may have some problems with using their hand.
Children will adapt and can function without a missing finger. Children who have no use of a thumb will learn to rely on a lateral pinch between the long and index fingers.
However, they may have problems with fine motor activities such as pinching and grasping. It is these children who may require surgery to correct the problem.
The Orthopedic Center’s hand surgery and microsurgery unit have undergone special training to deal with such problems. We are experienced in treating conditions that range from routine to highly complex, and can provide your child with expert diagnosis, treatment, and care.