Born With Fingers Fused Together, Little Keaton Underwent Surgery on Both Hands — Then Woke Up to a Special Surprise

When Lauren held her newborn son Keaton for the first time, she noticed something unusual about his tiny hands.

Several of his fingers were joined together by skin.

The nurses had not yet mentioned the difference, but his mother had already spotted it while looking closely at her baby.

Keaton had been born with syndactyly, a congenital condition in which two or more fingers are connected.

His journey would eventually involve surgery on both hands. But his medical team found a creative way to make the experience less frightening for a little boy.

A Difference His Mother Noticed Immediately

Syndactyly is one of the most common congenital hand differences. Depending on its severity, the condition can affect finger growth, movement and everyday hand function.

Keaton’s family sought specialized orthopedic care at Shriners Children’s Chicago.

There, pediatric hand surgeon Dr. Felicity Fishman evaluated his hands and recommended surgery to separate the joined fingers.

The goal was to allow more typical finger growth and improve the function of his hands as he developed.

Preparing His Tiny Fingers for Surgery

Separating webbed fingers involves more than simply cutting through the connecting skin.

Surgeons carefully plan how to rearrange tissue so that the newly separated fingers have appropriate skin coverage.

For Keaton, treatment would involve operations on both hands, followed by protective casts during recovery.

His surgeon also had an unusual tradition: she invited children and their parents to choose a special design for their postoperative casts.

He Chose a Dinosaur for His First Cast

For the operation on his left hand, Keaton selected a T-Rex.

When he woke up, he discovered that his bright green cast had been decorated with the dinosaur he wanted.

Dr. Fishman had drawn the artwork herself.

The colorful design was intended to make the medical experience feel more personal and give young patients some choice during a situation that could otherwise seem frightening.

Then Came a Shark on His Other Hand

When it was time for surgery on Keaton’s other hand, he and Lauren requested a new design: a shark accompanied by a little fish.

The operating-room team decided the smaller fish should be escaping the shark rather than becoming its dinner.

Dr. Fishman used the blue cast as her canvas, drawing the underwater scene while the cast was setting.

For Keaton, the drawings turned an ordinary part of postoperative recovery into something he could look forward to.

Six Months Later, His Mother Shared the Outcome

By the time Shriners Children’s published his story in June 2022, Keaton was three years old and had finished wearing his colorful casts.

Six months after treatment, his mother reported that he had full function of his hands, with no lingering pain or difficulty involving his fingers.

He was enjoying the energetic, playful life of a typical three-year-old.

For his family, the operations had addressed the congenital difference they noticed at birth. And the dinosaur and shark drawings remained memorable examples of how thoughtful pediatric care can make a difficult experience easier for a child.

Source: Shriners Children’s Chicago, June 24, 2022 — Surgeon Creates Colorful Cast Art at Shriners Children’s.