Polydactyly of the hand and foot

Objective: Our aim was to establish the differences between polydactyly of the hand, the foot and those affecting both the hands and feet.

Methods: One hundred twenty-five cases of hand polydactyly (HP), 105 of foot polydactyly (FP) and 25 cases of combined hand and foot polydactyly (HFP) were reviewed. We differentiated between preaxial, postaxial, axial and peculiar polydactyly and a group constituted by all other non-preaxial location (OTHERL) was also formed. In all patients the following parameters were analyzed: sex, laterality, antecedence of malformation in the family (FAANT) and the existence of other malformations (OTHERM).

Results: Polydactyly was commonly preaxial in the hand (72%), OTHERL in the foot (64.7%) and equally located in hands and feet in HFP, with the most frequent being postaxial/postaxial combination (36% of the cases). Bilaterality is rare in preaxial HP (3.3% versus 77.7% of right unilaterality) and remarkable in OTHERL (54.2%). Bilaterality is greater in preaxial FP (64.8%) and strongly marked in HFP, which accounts for 72% of hands and 80% of feet. There is a slight global dominance of males in all forms. The existence of FAANT is higher in OTHERL in the hand (45.7% versus 34.4% in preaxial) and in preaxial of the foot (45.9% versus 25% in OTHERL), being very high (48%) in HFP. The coexistence with other malformations, either in the hand or foot, is higher in OTHERL.