Megadactyly with syndactyly of the right toes, a rare case report

Megadactyly of the foot is uncommon non hereditary congenital anomalies of the extremities and poses a dilemma on treatment however multiple treatment modalities were developed but is not uniform to all patients with megadactyly. The goal of the surgical treatment is to achieve painless and function of the foot.

We report a 14 years old male presented with complaints of progressive enlargement 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th toes of the right foot since birth, associated with inability to wear shoes. One month prior to admission he experienced gradual onset painful forefoot and toes that was increasing in severity with time associated with inability to walk normally. He is the first born in a family of four children and his other siblings are healthy with no anomalies. On clinical evaluation, he was health with stable vitals, with enlarged 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th toes of the right foot with no tenderness with intact neurovascular status. On clinical and radiological evaluation he was diagnosed with congenital megadactyly of the right foot, a multidisciplinary team including orthopedic surgeons and prosthetics team agreed to do trans-metatarsal, then partial foot prosthesis fabrication. He underwent trans-metatarsal amputation of the affected foot and tissue sample was taken for histopathology. The histological findings revealed bone enlargement with increased proliferation of subcutaneous adipose tissues with increased fibrous septae together with thinning of the epidermis, features suggestive of lipomatosis. The wound site healed very well after 14 days stitches were removed and the child was scheduled for follow-up after six weeks, 12 weeks and 6 month post-surgery. On the last visit he was free from pain on his right forefoot and toes, able to wear fabricated partial foot prosthesis and shoes normally, walk with no incapacitation.

Our case report is unique due to the involvement of the multiple toes of the right foot with syndactyly at third and fourth toes and its management is challenging because there is no uniformity in its surgical treatment, in our case trans-metatarsal amputation was done and the patient progressed well after six months of follow up.

Foot megadactyly is uncommon congenital malformation, most common on the right foot. Regardless of the dilemma on treatment, the trans-metatarsal amputation and a fabricated prosthesis to our patient fulfilled the goals of painless right foot and able to wear shoes and walk normally with no impairment.