Research: Hand deformities

"Congenital anomalies are deformities that are present at birth. Any type of deformity in a newborn infant can become a challenge for the child as he or she grows."

VeePee's would have had a very difficult childhood as he had to deal with his deformed left hand. His case is very severe and through my research  I discovered that "surgical treatment of this condition is complex and the outcomes may be less than desirable."   Although surgery and treatment was possible his rich parent's were ashamed of him and did not bear to make his case public, so he received no treatment.

He learned to deal with his deformity and managed to gain some functionality from it, allowing him to operate his lab and conduct his experiments in later life. This quote from emedicine.com supports this:

"Surprisingly, many upper extremity malformations cause little functional deficit. Children develop prehension with hands as they are, and they usually are not self-conscious of difference until they become socialized in school."

 There are many different kinds of hand deformities but it is clear that VeePee's suffers from overgrowth or 'Macrodactyly'. This would be described as gigantism of the upper limbs.

What I have learned and how this effects my design:

• I have learned that it is possible to have some functionality with a deformed hand so I could have VeePee's operate some kind of lab equipment with his deformed hand.
• It's possible to have a serious hand deformity while the rest of the arm remains completely 'normal'. So I will design Veepee's in this fashion. This would result in a club-like shape for his arm. 
• Hand deformities can affect the bones as well as just the soft tissue. I earlier had the idea that his deformed hand could be used as a blunt weapon so if his club hand is mostly bone this could be very likely. An aggressive hitting weapon would be an interesting contrast to the rest of the character.

References:

Congenital Hand Deformities (2012) Author: Donald R Laub Jr, MD, MS, FACS; Chief Editor: Joseph A Molnar, MD, PhD, FACS

- Home>Health library>Diseases and Conditions>Congenital hand deformities                           http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org

- Article on hand deformities                  http://emedicine.medscape.com