I am happy to report that the toddler I wrote about yesterday with the 8 limbs has had a successful surgery.
The almost 24 hour operation required a team of more than 30 physicians to remove Lakshmi’s extra limbs, salvaged her organs, and rebuilt her pelvis area, Dr. Sharan Patil said from a hospital in the southern Indian city of Bangalore.
The strong little girl was born joined to a “parasitic twin” that stopped developing in her mother’s womb. The surviving fetus absorbed limbs, kidneys and other body parts of the undeveloped fetus.
“Beyond our expectations, the reconstruction worked wonderfully well,” said Patil, the lead orthopedic surgeon during the operation.
The complications for Lakshmi’s surgery were myriad: She was born with four kidneys, entangled nerves, two stomach cavities and two chest cavities. She has not been able stand up or walk.
The surgery also included separating the fused spines, Patil said. “Every step was successful. There was no setback whatsoever.”
Physicians had anticipated an especially difficult challenge would be rebuilding Lakshmi’s pelvis, but that went smoothly also.
“We were able to bring the pelvic bones together successfully, which takes away the need for another procedure,” Patil said.
The little girl has been called a the goddess
Vishnu, a mythical figure that is thought to be the master of and beyond the past, present and future, the creator and destroyer of all existences, one who supports, sustains and governs the Universe and originates and develops all elements within.
The good news is that the hospital’s foundation paid for the operation because the family could not afford the bills.
