My dd 18 months was diagnosed at 13 months with a mild cleft hand. She uses it and although she has to adapt when picking some things up and holding things she uses it. My question is treatments are not that pleasant and she goes back to the Orthopedic doc in April to discuss and decide. Would you put her through either surgery or another form of treatment? I think of her when she is older and how maybe holdng a pencil might be difficult ( although I am sure she could adapt) but also her peers and how cruel kids can be. This has been weighing on my mind heavily.
( she has all of her fingers but she has a very noticable v shape which seperates her middle finger from her ring finger. Her pointer finger and middle finger are leaning towards her thumb and the individual fingers are curved more inwards, if that description makes sense)Thanks for any advice!

Is is possible for you to speak with a person, or parent of a person, with this issue, or something similiar? Maybe your ortho can refer you to someone? It would be helpful to find out how someone else living with this issue has been able to do with or without the surgery. Maybe you could search online for it too, see if there is any info about pros or cons of this surgery.

I put off having one of my son's surgeries, also orthopedic, for a year while I really thought about it. For me, I decided that I wanted to give him the chance to do better if possible......and I trusted the ortho doctor with my own life and have known him for years....but it took me a long time to come to the decision.

Hang in there....

My sister just had a baby on March 3 and Zoe was born with "club feet" - don't know the medical term. They finally got her in to see the right pediatric orthopedist and because it was only her feet and not her legs and/or hips he didn't think that she will need surgery. He recommended that she get casts on her legs to "train" her feet into the right position. And did it right then!!! She will have to go in weekly for at least a couple of months for new casts.

I am not sure how similar (if at all) this is to your daughter. My sis and her dh didn't have much of a choice b/c it would affect Zoe's ability to walk (I think). I do not believe that Zoe is in any pain. She is more annoyed by the casts as they go up to her thigh. It has been hard for my sis to get used to seeing Zoe like that (plus the horomonal thing is not helping I am sure...)

I would suggest not making any decisions right now b/c you don't have all the info - you don't know what will be recommended. Wait and see.