Indian girl born with 8 limbs in stable condition after operation

Two-year-old Indian girl born with four arms and four legs is in stable condition after undergoing a serious operation to leave her with normal anatomy.

Photo: Indian girl born with 8 limbs in stable condition after operation

Indian girl born with 8 limbs in stable condition after operation

The girl, Lakshmi, was being kept sedated in the intensive care unit at a hospital in the southern Indian city of Bangalore during what doctors said was a critical 72-hour period following the operation.

"She is a 2-year-old girl who has undergone massive surgery, we have to watch and wait," said Sparsh Hospital spokeswoman Dr. Mamatha Patil.

Lakshmi, who has been revered by some in her village as a reincarnation of the four-armed Hindu goddess she was named for, was born joined at the pelvis to a "parasitic twin" that stopped developing in her mother's womb. The surviving fetus absorbed the limbs, kidneys and other body parts of the undeveloped fetus.

On Wednesday a team of more than 30 surgeons conducted the operation, removing the extra limbs, transplanting a kidney from the twin and reconstructing her pelvic area in the hope she would be able to lead a normal life.

"Beyond our expectations, the reconstruction worked wonderfully well," lead surgeon Sharan Patil said Wednesday after the operation, which lasted more than 24 hours. "We were able to bring the pelvic bones together successfully, which takes away the need for another procedure."

However, Lakshmi will need further treatments and possible surgery for clubbed feet before she will be able to walk, he said.