Girl with 12 fingers, 14 toes reaches for a record

[February 16, 2011]  YANGON, Myanmar (AP) -- A mother in Myanmar says her baby girl's 12 fingers and 14 toes have been no disadvantage -- her grip may even be stronger than normal -- and now she's grasping for a Guinness record.

Phyo Min Min Soe, 26, knew her girl Le Yati Min had a little something extra since nearly the moment she was born.

"I asked the nurses whether my kid was born complete with hands and legs," says her mother. "They replied that the baby even has more than she needs."

Born with 12 fingers and 14 toes, Le may be the most "digitally enhanced" person in the world. Now, the 16-month-old girl's family in impoverished Myanmar is seeking a Guinness World Record to prove it.

A neighbor is helping her mother apply to claim the record hearing that a boy from India currently holds bragging rights for the most digits, with 12 fingers and 13 toes.

Polydactylism -- being born with an extra finger or toe -- is fairly unusual, but it is even more rare for someone to have spare functional digits on both hands and feet, as Le does.

Le lives with her family in a small wooden house on the outskirts of the Southeast Asian country's former capital of Yangon, where she runs around with seven toes on each foot.

Proud mom Phyo Min Min Soe, 26, said Tuesday that she'd be happy to see Le gain a world record, but even without that, her daughter already has a happy life, and even some natural advantages.

"She seems to have a stronger grip on things -- so she doesn't drop things much," she says, as Le plays nearby with a mobile phone.

According to the Guinness World Records website, the record for most fingers and toes for a living person is currently held by two people in India, who have 12 fingers and 13 toes each.

Dr. Craig Camasta, a surgeon in Atlanta, Georgia, said many parents of babies with polydactylism choose to have an operation to get rid of the extra fingers or toes to avoid social stigma, but that "It's not necessary that the extra digits be removed."

[Associated Press]

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