8-Month-Old Baby Born With Rare Condition Of Giant Feet In Need Of Surgery

An eight-month-old baby born with a rare condition that causes abnormally large feet and toes is in need of surgery, media reports said Tuesday. The case of the infant girl from India was published in medical journal Cureus.

The girl's parents reportedly noticed the gradual enlargement of her lower limbs since birth resulting in giant feet.

“This was not associated with any delayed attainment of developmental milestones. There was no history of trauma, pain or skin changes. There is no relevant family history of any similar diseases. The upper limbs were normal,” researchers noted.

Tests revealed that the girl was suffering from Macrodystrophia Lipomatosa (MDL), also known as gigantism, which can occur in one or more fingers or toes, and sometimes entire limbs.

The child underwent an ultrasound and the larger size of the toes and feet was found to be tissue. Doctors suggested that the girl needs corrective surgery.

This is the first time researchers are seeing the condition affect all 10 toes in a patient. Given the rarity of the condition, researchers added that the best treatment option for the infant girl is unknown.

"It is important to report such anecdotal cases to get knowledge about their clinicopathological behaviour and standardise optimal treatment options since prospective studies are not feasible due to rarity of the disease and paucity of data," the report said.

According to Italian Journal of Pediatrics, the rare cause of gigantism of limb can be confused with other common causes like congenital lymphedema. Reports also state that this is a rare nonhereditary benign congenital condition.

In 2019, doctors released images of an Indian man's foot with the same condition. The 25-year-old man, born with MDL, had two severely enlarged toes. A report stated that the unnamed man had spent his childhood hiding his abnormally large foot in customized shoes to avoid bullying. But by the time he turned 20, the swelling had become a "cosmetic issue" that left him struggling to walk.