Girl With Eight Limbs Undergoes Surgery By KASHIF MASOOD,AP Posted: 2007-11-06 15:16:54 Filed Under: Health News, World News BANGALORE, India (Nov. 6) - Doctors began operating Tuesday on a 2-year-old girl born with four arms and four legs in an extensive surgery that they hope will leave the girl with a normal body, a hospital official said. The girl is joined to a "parasitic twin" that stopped developing in the mother's womb. The surviving fetus absorbed the limbs, kidneys and other body parts of the undeveloped fetus. The girl, Lakshmi, is named after the four-armed Hindu goddess of wealth, and some in her village in the northern state of Bihar revere her. "Everybody considers her a goddess at our village," said her father, Shambhu, who goes by one name. "All this expenditure has happened to make her normal. So far, everything is fine." Others sought to make money from Lakshmi. Her parents kept her in hiding after a circus apparently tried to buy the girl, they said. The complications for Lakshmi's surgery are myriad: The two spines are merged, she has four kidneys, entangled nerves, two stomach cavities and two chest cavities. She cannot stand up or walk. "It's a big team effort of a lot of skilled surgeons who will be putting their heart and soul into solving the problem of Lakshmi," said Dr. Sharan Patil, the lead surgeon in the operation. "It's going to take many, many hours on a continuous basis to operate on the baby. So, these issues definitely make it complex." Patil put the risk of losing Lakshmi between 20 and 25 percent. Doctors at Sparsh Hospital in Bangalore, where Lakshmi is undergoing surgery, said she is popular among the medical staff and other patients. "She's a very cute girl," Dr. Patil Mamatha said. "She's very playful and gets along well with others." The hospital's foundation is paying for the operation because the girl's family could not afford the medical bills, Mamatha said. A team of 30 doctors was participating in the surgery. Video and story here: http://news.aol.com/story/_a/girl-with-eight-limbs-undergoes-surgery/20071106081709990001 Freaky stuff, but hopefully she comes out ok.
there is the X-ray of how the twin is attached. this is a really interesting case from a medical perspective. my main question is how the kid can go to the bathroom... you would think her genetalia and anus would be connected to the pelvis of the parasitic twin. from a more human/philosophical perspective i feel very sad for the kid. its just another case that makes me wonder how people can believe in god. If there is a god out there he definitely isnt very compassionate, this girl will never live a normal life, regardless of how good the surgeons do their work.
yeah i read up about this... very interesting. since the hospital n stuff are sponsoring this, y didn't they do it earlier... like shes 2yo now...
They probarly couldn't operate when she was younger cause her body wasn't fully developed enough?? Or her parents couldn't afford it? But now the hospital is willing to do the operation for free?? Anyway, who would know? 30 surgeons, 40 hour operation, 80% success rate-Pretty good odds that she will succeed and be able to walk.
Yea if there is a god he isn't very compassionate... I wonder if she has control of those other limbs? maybe wen she goes toilet its not as "cleanly" done as it is for normal people,
I saw it in the newspapers today. I wondered was she able to moves the other arms and legs? since it was a part of her body...
Poor girl, hopefully the surgeries will be successful and that she would be able to lead a healthier lifetsyle.
that's terrible, i can't help but feel sorry for her. hope she can walk and live normally after the operation.
surgery was a success at least, its a matter of living life now as a diabled but not to the extent of a complete freak, and naw sorry but she couldn't control the other limbs, because the brain just itsnt capability of doing such thing, as least for humans
update on her surgery http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2007/11/13/4652585-ap.html Wish the little girl all the best.
yesss...thnx for the update wind~ glad to hear shes oki.... hope she will really be able to walk and all that...... -flow
