Three-armed boy recovering in hospital after successful surgery

Two-month-old Liu Junjie was born with an extremely rare, well-developed third arm on his left side, and doctors were initially puzzled at the best course of action as both arms were functioning.

Photo: Three-armed boy recovering in hospital after successful surgery

They have now removed one of the two left arms that had laid across his chest, leaving the one higher up on the shoulder, but are unsure how well his remaining left arm will respond to physical therapy.

The child, who was treated at Shanghai Children's Medical Centre, will now require long-term physical therapy to gain function in his remaining hand, which has no palm and flexes in either direction, according to the Telegraph co.uk

Liu's mother said she was relieved the surgery was over but worried for her son's future.

Liu was born in rural Anhui province, west of Shanghaii, to poor farmers. Because of shortfalls in China's rural health system, his mother never received a sonogram before giving birth by cesarean section.

Dr Chen said doctors don't know what causes additional limbs, and said no reliable figures exist on the frequency of such cases, partly because many fetuses with more than four limbs are aborted or miscarried.

Jie-jie also only has one kidney, the doctor said, but he predicted that will not cause him future problems, CNN reports.