BANGALORE, India - A grueling, 24-hour-long operation to remove the extra limbs of a 2-year-old Indian girl born with four arms and four legs was a success, doctors announced Wednesday. The girl, named Lakshmi, has been revered by some in her village as the reincarnation of a Hindu goddess. She 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.
A team of more than 30 physicians removed 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.
"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.
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