Eklavya gets a ‘thumbs-up’ after a complicated surgery

A nine-month-old baby from Uttar Pradesh, who was born with seven and a half fingers in her left hand with no thumb, underwent a complicated plastic surgery last week at the state-run St George Hospital. The surgery was conducted to remove the additional fingers and reconstruct the missing thumb. Doctors claimed that this was a rare case in which the baby was born with an additional finger, and for which there was no specific scientific explanation. Having successfully operated on the infant, the doctors have named the baby ‘Eklavya’ - a character from the epic Mahabharata who had cut off his finger as Dakshina (a gift for teaching) for his teacher.

Dr Rajat Kapoor, the plastic surgeon, said that since birth

she was suffering from congenital deformation due to which she had seven and a half fingers with no thumb, which is called as ‘Mirror hand’ and it is the first such case that he has come across.“As the child had a ‘Mirror hand’, surgery was the only option through which the additional finger could be removed. Since she did not have a thumb, it was difficult for her to do essential daily work such as writing or holding anything, as such persons feel pain in the upper limbs during prolonged use of hands,” he added.

Dr Kapoor further said that last week she underwent a seven-hour long surgery after which the additional finger was removed and they reconstructed the missing thumb, so that she can do her daily work. “Often children are born with an additional finger, but it is a rare case. Moreover, all the fingers do not function properly in this case, though there is no scientific reason for this,” he added.