A girl who was born in India with seven fingers on each hand and six on each foot is the pride of her family, which far from seeing in her an unwanted anomaly ensures that it is the "reincarnation of a goddess".
Doctors said the girl, born in Bharatpur, a town in the state of Rajasthan, has a rare genetic abnormality known as polydactyly.
Her family, on the other hand, has preferred to think that the Hindu goddess Dholagarh Devi has reincarnated in her. The temple of this deity is located near where the girl was born. The statues that represent her show the figure of a young woman with several arms.
Media reports indicate that the baby's mother, Sarju Devi, 25, is delighted with the event and his brother told local media: "My sister has given birth to a baby girl who has 26 fingers, and we believe she is the incarnation of Dholagarh Devi. We are very happy."
It is unknown whether the baby's parents will choose to have surgery to remove the excess fingers and toes. The girl does not suffer from any medical problems.
"There's nothing wrong with having 26 fingers, it's a genetic abnormality. Otherwise, the girl is absolutely healthy," BS Soni, a doctor at the hospital where she was born, told Newsflash.
[Two Latinos charged with homicide in death of 1-year-old baby from fentanyl at New York children's center]
Although it is one of the most common hand malformations (according to data from Boston Children's Hospital, one in every 500 to 1,000 newborns has polydactyly), the defect usually affects only one limb, which makes the case of the girl very particular.
What is polydactyly?
It is a condition in which people are born with more than 5 toes on each hand or foot.
According to MedlinePlus experts, having extra fingers or toes (6 or more) can occur spontaneously and the person may not have any other symptoms or illnesses. Polydactyly can be passed down through families and involves a single gene that can cause some variations.
[Florida nanny caring for baby found dead in 133-degree car arrested]
People of African-American descent, more than other ethnic groups, can inherit a sixth finger. In most cases, this is not caused by a genetic disease.
What causes this condition?
There are several causes that can cause polydactyly. According to MedlinePlus, the most common are:
- Asphyxiating thoracic dystrophy.
- Carpenter syndrome.
- Ellis-van Creveld syndrome (chondroectodermal dysplasia).
- Familial polydactyly.
- Laurence-Moon-Biedl syndrome.
- Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome.
- Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome.
- Trisomy 13.
This would happen if humans had a sixth finger.
May 24, 202102:36
Can be detected during pregnancy
Extra fingers can be discovered during the first three months of pregnancy with an ultrasound or a more advanced test called embryofoetosis.
The health care provider diagnoses the condition based on family history, medical history, and a physical exam.
Although the malformation does not put the health of newborns at risk, extra fingers can cause problems during later development.
That's why extra fingers are usually removed by surgery when the baby is between one and two years old.
With information from The Toronto Sun, The New York Post and MedlinePlus
