Watch as man born with 12 fingers shows how he can rotate his ‘extra pinky’ 360 degrees
A MAN born with 12 fingers showed how he can rotate his ‘extra pinky’ 360 degrees.
Karen Shetty said the extra finger growing next to his left pinky had a bone in it but no joints, hence his ability to rotate it.
The gym-goer went viral after sharing how the extra pinky comes in handy during his workouts.
Karen was originally born with 12 fingers, however the sixth on his right hand had to be cut off when he was younger due to an infection.
Now, the 26-year-old has just 11. He puts the strange phenomenon down to his genes, as he’s not the first member of his family to be born with a few extra digits.
Not only did his great-grandfather have it, but so did three grandmothers and one auntie.
In a clip shared to Instagram, which has racked up 5.9 million views and over 92,800 likes, he shows how he uses the tiny finger in the gym, which grows just next to his pinky.
“In this generation, it’s me who has it now,” Karen, a network engineer from Mumbai, India, told What’s The Jam.
“It makes me unique.
“I can feel the finger, it has a bone but no joints.
“It can rotate up to 360° since it has no joints.
“Some of my family have even had nails grow on them.”
His extra finger is often an object of fascination to those around him, Karen shared.
“People around me find it cute and soft, they like to hold and play around with it.
“I also put on magic shows for kids below seven because it’s something unusual to them.”
In the video, he shows the front and back of his hand to the camera, showing off his small 11th finger which has grown just after where his pinky is.
He picks up a weight in the gym, and swivels his finger to hug the other side of the hilt.
Karen then starts to deadlift the weight.
He captioned the clip: “Say ‘HI’ to my cute little 6th finger,” which has gathered hundreds of comments.
Isiah said: “Bro that’s not fair.”
Juan commented: “Pinky promise he’s the strongest dude in the game.”
Brad wrote: “Has the upgraded grip locker.”
Alejandro added: “Extra grip power nice.”
The medical term for additional little fingers on one or both hands is ‘ulnar polydactyly’ and is fairly common, according to the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children.
They’re usually inherited, with a 50 per cent chance of it happening if it runs in the family. But the phenomenon can also occur spontaneously.
Sometimes the extra finger is well formed, but more commonly it has a narrow base or stalk and is floppy.
This can put the finger at risk of twisting, which can cut off blood supply and be painful.
Parents have the option to have their babies extra fingers removed, usually with a short operation.
Otherwise, the digits can be taped to pinkies to avoid pain and twisting.
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