[Baldy]

What the ???

Bangalore, Nov 6 (IANS)

A team of 36 medics began a complicated surgery at a super-speciality hospital here Tuesday to separate a two-year-old girl child with eight limbs from her 'parasitic conjoined twin' and enable her to lead a normal life.

A spokesperson of Sparsh Hospital in Narayana health city on the outskirts of Bangalore said the rare surgery on Lakshmi, from Araria in Bihar, began at 8 a.m. and would take about 40 hours to complete
"It's a delicate surgery involving complicated cutting-edge operation, which is being conducted for about 40 hours non-stop. Though Lakshmi is a pair of conjoined twins, only one of them has a head. Two pairs of arms and legs have formed at either end of the two adjoining torsos, creating eight limbs, which she has been able to move and control," the official said.




The team of medics, headed by hospital chairperson and chief orthopaedic surgeon Sharan Patil, includes specialist surgeons from paediatrics, neuro-surgery, plastic and microvascular departments.

As the toddler, hailing from a village near the Nepal border, belongs to an impoverished family, the hospital has decided to take up the challenge of separating the deformed twin and saving her life free-of-cost.

"The cost of such a surgery, the first of its kind in the subcontinent, is estimated to be about Rs.2.5 million (approx $64,000). As it is a rare case of an ischiopagus conjoined twin, which occurs once in over 50,000 births, the chances of survival are about 50 percent," the spokesperson disclosed.

Ischio means pelvic bone in Greek and pagus implies fused. Such conjoined twins are among the rarest and very complex to separate as they involve many organ systems - liver, intestine, urinary, reproductive, vascular and musculo-skeletal systems.



Lakshmi with her mother Poonam and father Shambu(L); An X-ray picture shows how the two bodies are joined at the pelvis(R)

Though Lakshmi was admitted to the hospital over a month ago (Oct 3), the doctors decided to first improve her overall health, as she was malnourished and anaemic.

"We had to first nourish her body and increase her haemoglobin to normal level and prepare her for the prolonged surgery, which is a bit risky considering her age and the complications involved," Patil told reporters before the surgery began.

"It is a great challenge to the Indian medical fraternity as such cases are rare. We have to retain as many vital organs of the toddler's delicate body to give a normal appearance and maximise the functionality of the child. For instance, there is a risk of cerebro spinal fluid leakage when the spine is operated upon.

"As the spine is fused, the vertebral column has to be separated. Of Lakshmi's two kidneys, one is located in the parasitic twin, which has to be moved up and reconstructed. We have to also reconstruct her pelvis to facilitate smooth flow," he explained.

According to Lakshmi's father Sambhu, efforts to get her treated in Delhi did not succeed as doctors were unwilling to undertake such a risky surgery and the cost involved was prohibitive.

When Patil learnt about Lakshmi's plight through social workers, he went to her village to evaluate the possibility of separating the deformed portion of her body by surgery, however complex.

IANS

[Hunted]

That's amazing.

[Worrymon]

Wow, hadn't seen the pic before! Hope the surgery turns out well

[EDIT]: Apparently it was a success!

Girl separation surgery a success

Separation surgery on a two-year-old Indian girl who was born with four arms and four legs has been successful, doctors say.

Lakshmi Tatma was joined at the pelvis to what was, in effect, a headless, undeveloped twin.

A team of surgeons in the southern city of Bangalore operated on Lakshmi for 27 hours to separate her spinal column and kidney from that of her twin.

It is hoped the procedure will allow her to survive beyond adolescence.

"Lakshmi is stable and sound," the doctor leading the operation, Sharan Patil, told a news conference which was shown live on television channels across India.

'Optimistic'

"She has withstood the operation, she is safe and doing well," he said.

Lakshmi is still on ventilation.

"We will keep a close watch on her for the next 48 to 72 hours and won't move from the hospital until she stabilises," Dr Patil said.

More than 30 doctors "worked relentlessly through the night to make the operation successful," he said and added that there was "no setback at any stage of the surgery".

Dr Patil said he was "optimistic about the child's survival".

The surgery began at 0700 local time (0130 GMT) on Tuesday and ended at 1000 local time (0430 GMT) on Wednesday.

Lakshmi's parents, poor labourers from the northern Indian state of Bihar, would be allowed to see their daughter this afternoon.

The child has been hailed by some in her village in Bihar as the reincarnation of the multi-limbed Hindu goddess of wealth, Lakshmi.

Conjoined twins are rare, occurring in about one in every 200,000 births.

They originate from a single fertilised egg, so they are always identical and of the same sex.

The overall survival rate of conjoined twins is somewhere between 5% and 25%.

Historical records over the past 500 years detail about 600 surviving sets of conjoined twins - more than 70% of which have been female twins.

Source

[Baldy]

More than 30 doctors "worked relentlessly through the night to make the operation successful," he said and added that there was "no setback at any stage of the surgery".

"She has withstood the operation, she is safe and doing well," he said.

...that`s good News ...RESPECT :bow

[kellyhound]

A great achievement and i hope she's gonna grow up like a normal child.

[chris]

This 2 year old is not a Spider, although she has 8 limbs. 4 arms and 4 legs. Lakshmi was born joined to a “parasitic twin” and absorbed the undeveloped fetus’ limbs, kidneys and organs when it failed to fully develop still inside the mothers womb. The Hindu’s believe she is the reincarnation of the Hindu Goddess Vishnu.

[jjacks1327]

[jjacks1327]

she might have deformities, but she sure is beautiful

[niniane]

She really is pretty sweet... I am wondering how she goes to the bathroom though?

[jjacks1327]

i'm pretty sure her anus and other cavities are just on the underside of her, but she had the extra limbs removed so i'm assuming the alignment of everything is more normal now after surgery.