Indian Girl Born With Four Arms And Four Legs Makes First Appearance Since Surgery
Posted November 13, 2007 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Less than a week after undergoing a risky surgery to remove her extra limbs, a 2-year-old Indian girl born with four arms and four legs made her first public appearance Tuesday.
Lakshmi, who was named after the four-armed goddess that residents in her rural village in India believed she was the reincarnation of, had both of her legs in casts but her arms were free as she greeted reporters with a wide smile.
The little girl was born joined at the the pelvis to a “parasitic twin” that stopped developing in her mother’s womb. She absorbed the limbs, kidneys and other body parts of the undeveloped twin.
Doctors said she was responding well to treatment.
“She is coping very well and she is stable,” said chief surgeon Dr. Sharan Patil. “Lakshmi is safe at the moment.”
The operation took 24 hours and involved a team of more than 30 surgeons in the southern city of Bangalore.
Lakshmi has been off her respirator since Friday and is once again eating solid food.
“We still have things to do, but so far, so good,” Patil adds.
Lakshmi’s medical treatment is far from over, however. She may need more surgery to repair her clubbed feet before she’ll be able to walk.
