Surgeons reduce baby’s six legs to two

The baby after the operation ... on Thursday.

Pakistani doctors have successfully operated on a baby boy born with six legs and removed the extra limbs to save his life.

“A team of five experienced doctors have successfully separated the extra legs and limbs from the baby today (Thursday). He is very much safe and secure,” Jamal Raza, Director, National Institute of the Child Health, Karachi said.

The operation by the doctors at the National Institute of Child Health ended successfully with the removal of the extra legs. The baby is now said to be in stable condition, Geo News reported.

Doctors examined MRI, blood tests, CT scan reports and other test and later took the decision to do surgery which lasted for eight-hours in different phases.

Raza said, “The baby, who was born in Sukkur, was brought to Karachi for treatment. The infant was born to the wife of an X-ray technician a week ago.

“It is not one baby actually. They are two, one of them is premature.”

A doctor at the institute, who did not wish to be named, said the extra limbs were the result of a genetic disease which would affect only one in a million or more babies.

“The doctors are examining the infant to plan for necessary treatment to save the baby’s life and ensure he lives a normal life,” said a statement from the provincial health department.

Imran Shaikh, the baby’s father, who lives in Sukkur, said he was grateful his son was being treated. “We are a poor family. I am thankful to the government for helping us treat the baby,” he told the media.

The one-week-old boy is believed to be one of parasitic twins.

A parasitic twin is sometimes referred to as an asymmetrical or unequal conjoined twin.

It occurs when a twin embryo begins developing in utero, but the pair does not fully separate.

One embryo continues developing at the expense of the other (the parasitic) which will rely on the body of the other for blood supply and organ function.

It is incompletely developed and dependent on the other twin.

The independent twin is called the autosite.

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