2023-09-22 20:00:49
Thanks to the work of the IMSS surgeons, a substantial improvement in the patient’s quality of life was achieved and resorting to amputation was avoided.
Macrodactyly is a congenital condition characterized by excessive growth of the fingers, soft tissues, and bones of the hand.
In the case of the patient, he was born with the third finger of his left hand, measuring 8.5 cm long and 3 cm thick, that is, twice the size of an average finger, in a child of his age.
There are constant complaints against public health but it is also fair to talk about cases in which exemplary work is done. Such is the case of a multidisciplinary team headed by surgeons from the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) in Yucatán. Thanks to his preparation and knowledge, a successful highly complex reconstructive surgery was achieved.
What happened?
In that sense, it turned out that the specialists managed to improve the life of Gael, a child of only two years of age, who was diagnosed with macrodactilia. It is a congenital condition characterized by excessive growth of the fingers, soft tissues and bones of the hand.
In the case of the minor, he was born with the third finger of his left hand, measuring 8.5 cm long and 3 cm thick, that is, twice the size of an average finger for a child his age.
In this regard, the Dr. Sergio Raymond Lopez Perezcoordinator of the IMSS-Wellness Conference, assures that macrodactyly or digital gigantism is the presence of a disproportionately large finger that is caused by a genetic component and a tissue highly rich in angiogenic growth factors.
The above implies that it forms many new blood vessels, without being a tumor, and that they produce the excessive growth of bone, tendons, skin and generates double the length and thickness of the fingerprint size. In the end this prevents and causes the inability to grasp objects, in addition to the fact that the patient is constantly stigmatized because it is very noticeable.
They avoid specialists #IMSSBienestar Yucatán amputation and return of mobility to a child’s finger.
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— IMSS (@Tu_IMSS) September 22, 2023
At the end of March of this year, the little boy’s mother attended the Surgical Day of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery in Maxcanú, a day coordinated by IMSS-Wellbeing which brings High Specialty health services to the population that does not have Social Security. , to comprehensively serve the most vulnerable population.
Thus, the team of doctors, coming from different parts of the country and led by Dr. López Pérez, learned about Gael’s case and treated him immediately, to intervene surgically and, in this way, provide him with timely care to improve his quality of life.
The surgery lasted approximately three hours, involving pediatric doctors, plastic surgeons and anesthesiologists, who little by little removed the layers of skin, taking care of the nerves, blood vessels and, above all, the tendons, with the aim of reduce the 8.5 cm length and 3 cm width of your finger, respecting and taking care of the blood supply and the structures that allow bone mobility.
In the end, the specialists managed to reduce its size by almost 50% and today Gael’s middle finger measures 5 cm long and 1.5 cm wide, and the most important thing is that they returned his mobility, without the need for an amputation. Dr. López Pérez narrates that prior to the surgical procedure, the minor had no mobility in his finger due to the fact that his joints were adhered, and caused a deformity in his hand, limiting his functionality.
Two months after surgery and with timely medical follow-up and the necessary care, Gael now has movement in his finger, he can grab his toys on his own, greet, open and close his hand more easily and, above all, he can now have the pincer effect, essential in the development of any child.
The specialist assures that if this procedure was not performed at an early age, there was a risk that the joints would become ankylosed in the future and that it would be difficult to achieve functionality and mobility.
For his part, the head of the IMSS Yucatán, Dr. Alonso Juan Sansores Río, assured that this Surgical Day of the IMSS-Wellness Program changes the lives of each of the beneficiaries, and in the case of Gael not only was the amputation of his finger, but also mobility was achieved, as well as a significant reduction that will favor his development and self-esteem, so that in the future, he will have a better quality of life.
The little one must continue with functional therapy and will be monitored by experts to ensure that, over time, the finger does not grow and subsequently perform a second surgery, as part of the reconstructive treatment to address macrodactyly.
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