need advice concerning birth defects.

[ulrichsk8ter]

---

Members do not see this ad.

hey guys. I need some advice and I dont trust pre md's(just kidding). I recently decided to not attend the fairly good pharmacy school I was accepted to and pursue my DO instead. I want to be a surgeon but I was born with syndactyly(fusion of fingers or toes). I had corrective surgery but, sadly, surgery has changed a lot in the last 20 years and plastics just werent what they are today back then. The left hand has 5 separate digits but the first finger is larger in diameter and the other three gradually get smaller. Basically the left hand fingers didnt grow past the first joint so they are roughly half the size of normal fingers. The thumb on the left hand and all digits on the right hand are fine. I need some straight up advice because I know what the student doctor forum followers are capable of. please be a blunt as you need to be because i dont want to endure DO school if my peers wouldnt want me as a surgeon. Thank you guys for any help.

 

[ulrichsk8ter]

I didnt expect such an excellent response this quick. I appreciate you tracking that information down for me. I believe I meet the general requirements because the hand has never been a problem and I can perform the given tasks. my only thing would be the dexterity of the smaller fingers specifically the pinky and ring finger. This will sound dumb but how often are the pinky and ring fingers actually used? I hope to find out more when I do my D.O. Shadowing this summer. I lucked out...my D.O. is a surgeon which is just perfect. Does it matter that I asked a surgeon specializing in syndactyly correction about the hand and he said to follow my passions? who knows i may be grasping for any sliver of hope. but thank you once again.