2023 Volume 43 Issue 5 Pages 235-244
We have encountered distal interphalangeal joint symphalangism on sites of the 5th (and sometimes 4th and 5th, or 3rd, 4th, and 5th toes) toe of patients complaining of pain of the foot or toes after trauma. Most of these cases did not involve past histories of infections or trauma involving the symphalangeal toes, nor deformities or functional disabilities noted after birth.
Is this symphalangism evolution or devolution, rather than obsolescence?
Polydactyly or polysyndactyly of the foot is common on the postaxial side in Japanese people. In Japan, surgical treatments for foot polydactyly and polysyndactyly are generally carried out at 1 to 2 years of age, before the appearance of phalangeal epiphyseal bodies. In daily living, distal interphalangeal joint movement of the 5th (and 3rd and 4th) toes is considered non-essential, and so non-invasive surgical methods for polydactyly or polysyndactyly are recommended.
