The two-boned fifth toe: clinical implications.

Eighty operations on the fifth toe in 59 patients were retrospectively reviewed to determine the effect of skeletal variation on the occurrence of pathological conditions requiring surgery. The two-boned fifth toe occurred in 60% of the operated group. This is statistically significant (P < .05) as compared with 45% in our prospective control group. Our results support the theory that the stiffer two-boned fifth toe predisposes it to increased pathology, which includes hammertoes, interdigital and dorsal corns, and clawtoes.