You’ve probably seen the photos. Maybe it was a grainy shot of a newborn’s hand or a professional athlete pointing toward the bleachers with an extra digit catching the light. Most people react with a mix of curiosity and confusion when they see a guy with 6 fingers, but in the medical world, it’s just Tuesday. It has a name: polydactyly.
It’s way more common than you think.
Roughly one in every 500 to 1,000 babies is born with this trait. That means as you walk down a busy city street, you’ve likely passed someone who started life with an extra finger, even if they had it surgically removed years ago. It’s not a "mutation" in the sci-fi sense. It’s a glitch in the womb. Around the sixth or seventh week of gestation, your hands start out like little paddles. Normally, the tissue between the fingers dies off—a process called apoptosis—to create individual digits. Sometimes, the "program" just runs a little long. It splits one finger into two.
The Reality of Living as a Guy with 6 Fingers
Honesty time: it isn't always a superpower. While some people imagine a guy with 6 fingers having an incredible advantage at the piano or on a computer keyboard, the reality depends entirely on where that extra finger sits.
Doctors categorize this into three main buckets. You’ve got postaxial polydactyly, which is the most frequent. That’s when the extra finger hangs out next to the pinky. Then there’s preaxial, which is near the thumb (way more complicated to deal with), and central, which is right in the middle of the hand.
If the finger is just a "nubbin"—a soft-tissue growth without bone—it’s often removed shortly after birth. But if it has a fully formed bone, joint, and tendon? That’s where things get interesting.
Take Yoandri Hernandez Garrido from Cuba. He’s famously known for having six perfectly formed fingers on each hand. He’s often said that his hands help him make a living because tourists pay to see them, but more importantly, he claims they give him better grip for climbing palm trees. It’s a functional part of his life. He doesn't see it as a deformity. He sees it as an edge.
Is it actually a biological advantage?
Scientists have actually looked into this. A 2019 study published in Nature Communications examined individuals with postaxial polydactyly. The researchers, including Etienne Burdet and Carsten Mehring, found that the brain actually adapts to control the extra digit. It’s not like a "ghost limb" or a clumsy addition. The motor cortex literally maps out a dedicated space for that sixth finger.
The study participants could tie their shoes with one hand. They could navigate complex video game controllers with ease.
But there’s a catch.
Most of our world is built for ten fingers. Try finding a pair of high-quality leather work gloves if you’re a guy with 6 fingers. It doesn’t happen. You’re stuck with custom orders or cutting holes in standard gear. Even surgical residents with polydactyly—and yes, they exist—have to navigate the logistical nightmare of specialized medical gloves to maintain a sterile field.
Famous Cases and Cultural Impact
We can’t talk about this without mentioning Antonio Alfonseca. If you followed Major League Baseball in the late 90s and early 2000s, you knew "El Pulpo" (The Octopus). Alfonseca had a small extra finger on each hand.
Did it help his pitching?
He always claimed it didn't really touch the ball, but fans and hitters weren't so sure. There’s a psychological edge to seeing a pitcher staring you down with an extra digit. It’s intimidating. It’s different.
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Then there’s the world of high fashion and celebrity. It was long rumored that Halle Berry or Oprah Winfrey had six toes, though most of those "eyewitness" red carpet photos have been debunked as weird lighting or bunions. However, the fascination remains. We are obsessed with these "outliers" because they challenge our internal blueprint of what a human body should look like.
Genetics: Why it runs in families
If you’re a guy with 6 fingers, there’s a high chance your kid might be too. Polydactyly is often autosomal dominant. That’s a fancy way of saying if one parent has the gene, there’s a 50% chance the child will inherit the trait.
In some communities, it’s remarkably prevalent. The Amish community in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, has a higher incidence of polydactyly due to the "founder effect" and Ellis-van Creveld syndrome. In these cases, it’s not just an extra finger; it’s sometimes accompanied by heart defects or dwarfism. This is why doctors don't just look at the hand. They look at the whole person.
- Isolated Polydactyly: Just the finger. No other issues. This is the most common.
- Syndromic Polydactyly: Part of a larger genetic condition like Patau Syndrome or Down Syndrome.
- Postaxial Type A: A fully functional extra finger.
- Postaxial Type B: A small, non-functional tag of skin.
The Surgery: To Keep or Not to Keep?
This is the big debate. In the past, the reflex was always "remove it immediately." Parents worried about bullying. They worried about their kids being "the weird one."
But the tide is shifting slightly.
If the finger is functional and doesn't interfere with the hand's overall mechanics, some families choose to leave it. However, the medical consensus usually leans toward removal if the digit is at risk of getting caught on things or if it causes the other fingers to grow at an angle.
The surgery for a soft-tissue "nubbin" is simple—sometimes just a vascular clip that cuts off blood supply until it falls off, like an umbilical cord. But for a bone-deep sixth finger, it’s a full-on orthopedic surgery. They have to move tendons. They have to reshape the "parent" bone to ensure the hand stays strong.
It’s a delicate dance of reconstruction.
The Psychological Component
Honestly, the social aspect is usually harder than the physical one. Kids are mean. Being the guy with 6 fingers in a middle school locker room is a nightmare for most. But as an adult? It becomes a conversation starter. It becomes a mark of identity.
I’ve talked to people who felt "less than" after their extra finger was removed as a baby. They have the scar, and they feel like something that was naturally theirs was taken away before they could choose. It’s a complex ethical area for parents. Do you "normalize" your child, or do you let them keep their unique biology?
Future Tech and the Sixth Finger
We are currently entering an era where people are adding fingers. Not through biology, but through robotics.
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Researchers at MIT and other institutions are developing "The Third Thumb." It’s a robotic digit you wear on the side of your hand. Why? Because having an extra finger makes us more efficient. It allows us to hold a glass and stir it at the same time. It allows for more complex guitar chords.
If we are spending millions of dollars to build robotic sixth fingers, it puts the guy with 6 fingers in a whole new light. He’s not "abnormal." He’s a prototype. He’s got the hardware built-in that the rest of us are trying to replicate with motors and batteries.
Actionable Steps for Parents or Individuals
If you or your child has an extra digit, the path forward is pretty straightforward, but it requires the right experts.
- Get a Genetic Consultation: It’s important to rule out underlying syndromes. Most of the time, it’s just an isolated trait, but you want to be sure about heart and kidney health.
- Consult a Pediatric Hand Surgeon: Not just a general surgeon. Hand mechanics are incredibly tight. You need someone who understands the specific "real estate" of the palm and wrist.
- Document Functionality: If you're keeping it, watch for grip strength. If the extra finger starts to "deviate" (bend) or causes the other fingers to overlap, that's a sign that it might need to come off to save the hand's utility.
- Prepare for the Social Script: If you're a guy with 6 fingers, people will ask. Having a short, confident answer—"Yeah, it’s just a genetic bonus"—usually kills the awkwardness immediately.
The human body is remarkably flexible. Whether you have five fingers or six, the brain is ready to put them to work. Having an extra digit isn't a limitation; for many, it's just a different way of grasping the world.