The man with TOES for fingers: 28-year-old born with a deformed hand has surgery to 'swap' his digits
- Richard Stott was born with Poland syndrome, causing a deformed hand
- Rendered his left hand useless so he had 15 operations as he grew
- In one, the second toe on each foot was removed and sewn to his knuckles
- Allowed him to use his hand and he says it has even won him acting roles
A man born with deformed hand due to a rare defect has had his fingers replaced with his toes.
Richard Stott was diagnosed with Poland syndrome at birth, which meant his left hand was underdeveloped with short, webbed fingers, rendering it useless.
He underwent 15 operations as he grew, one of which involved having the second toe on each foot removed and grafted onto his knuckles.
This meant he was able to hold things with his left hand for the first time, vastly improving his quality of life.
Now, the 28-year-old says his disability has even helped his career as an actor, as his strange-looking hand has won him roles in plays such as Richard III or Beauty and the Beast.
Richard Stott, 28, was born with deformed hand due to a rare defect. He has undergone surgery in which the second toe on each foot was removed and grafted on to his left knuckle
Mr Stott was born with Poland syndrome, which causes webbed fingers and deformities, leaving his left hand almost useless. But since his 'toe-swap' operation in 2011 he has been able to use the appendage
Despite having problems with this left hand since birth, Mr Stott said it barely affected his life.
He said: 'I was having a hard time using my hand when I was younger, but I didn't notice it.
'My feet look exactly the same. People don't notice at all - there's hardly any scarring. It doesn't affect me.'
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At school, in Beverley, East Yorkshire, his disability caused no problems - even during PE lessons.
He said: 'I was never sporty, but it certainly didn't get in the way.
'In football it doesn't interfere, even as goalkeeper, you can still stick your hand out.'
Mr Stott says his disability has helped his career as an actor, as his strange-looking hand (left) has means he has a niche and has won him roles in plays such as Richard III or Beauty and the Beast
Mr Stott says people barely notice that he is missing a toe on each foot (left) as there is no scarring. Now, he dreams of playing Richard III on stage in London
After finishing school with exemplary grades in drama, Mr Stott moved to Manchester where he studied at the Arden School of Theatre.
But bad experiences in early auditions meant he went into behind-the-scenes, producing roles, rather than following his dream of performing.
He said: 'My first ever audition was for Commercial Castings. The first thing they get you to do is hold up your hands.
'I thought, "oh my god, I didn't know they were going to do this".
WHAT IS POLAND SYNDROME?
Poland syndrome is a disorder in which affected individuals are born with missing or underdeveloped muscles on one side of the body, resulting in abnormalities that can affect the chest, shoulder, arm, and hand.
The extent and severity of the abnormalities vary among affected individuals.
Poland syndrome commonly causes an underdevloped hand with short, webbed fingers. Mr Stott's hand is pictured after surgery
Many people with Poland syndrome have hand abnormalities on the affected side.
Commonly including an underdeveloped hand with abnormally short fingers (brachydactyly); small, underdeveloped (vestigial) fingers; and some fingers that are fused together (syndactyly).
This combination of hand abnormalities is called symbrachydactyly.
Some affected individuals have only one or two of these features, or have a mild hand abnormality that is hardly noticeable; more severe abnormalities can cause problems with use of the hand.
It has been estimated to occur in 1 in 20,000 newborns.
For unknown reasons, this disorder occurs more than twice as often in males than in female.
The cause the syndrome is unknown, but researchers have suggested it may result from a disruption of blood flow during development before birth.
Source: National Institutes of Health
'I held up my hands to the camera and the casting director, quite rightly, said, 'what's wrong with that hand?'
'How do you explain that? He didn't dismiss me but I knew straight away I hadn't got the role.'
But while he was embarrassed on this occasion, he doesn't blame the industry for being superficial.
He said: 'I don't blame the acting industry. The public have got a responsibility to be more accepting - they're creating the demand.
'The producers and casting directors are just supplying that demand.'
And despite early set-backs, Mr Stott now thinks having Poland syndrome is a bonus.
'Weirdly, it helps,' he said. 'The last job I got, I got because I had this. It was a version of Beauty and the Beast.
'The director wanted one of the characters to have some kind of physical disfigurement.
'That got me through the door and I got the part. Beauty started off as a really unlikeable, spoilt-brat character.
'There was a scene where she dismissed me because I wasn't perfect.'
He admits that having Poland syndrome does 'narrow down the casting bracket'.
But ever since his 'toe-swap' operation in 2011 he is able to hold things properly in his previously-unusable left hand.
'As a white guy in his 20s - which is a huge casting bracket - I've also got this little niche, which is very, very helpful,' he said.
He currently lives in Cambridge with his long-term girlfriend Loriana, 29, who works as a stem-cell scientists at Cambridge University.
When they first met, he was unsure about when to mention his hand, but found as they began dating his girlfriend didn't care.
He said: 'I've been with her for nearly five years. She was completely fine with my hand. I just didn't mention it.
'If you were meeting me face-to-face, you wouldn't notice it straight away, so it's a hard thing to bring up in conversation.
'When you're a kid, it's easy. Kids notice things more and say what's on their minds.
'When you get older, it becomes more of an issue. Now, when people don't mention it, it becomes the elephant in the room.
'I can't put my finger on the moment we first talked about it - I'm assuming that after a couple of days she realised, but didn't really care.'
Mr Stott now works for a cooperative acting agency called Stage Centre Management in north London, but has ambitions to act on stage in the capital.
He said: 'I really love the stage. I went to the National Theatre when I was 18 and was completely captivated.
'Since then, I've always held the National Theatre, the RSC and the Globe as my goals.
'If I can get one of them, even if it's just me saying a couple of lines I'd be really happy.
He added: 'I've got it in the back of my mind that I'm going to play Richard III one day - because it's kind of ridiculous that I'm called Richard, I'm from York and I've got a left hand like Richard III.
'I need a couple more years, but that would be my dream.
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