Six-day baby’s extra legs removed, more tests due

Other organs could also be affected, says NICH team.

KARACHI: After a week of stress, Sukkur resident Imran Sheikh was over the moon. His new baby son had been successfully operated on in Karachi to remove four extra limbs, making it possible for him to walk properly in future.

The six-day-old wonder baby seemed quite stable post-operation as the doctors moved him from the theatre to the ICU in an incubator in the afternoon.

Briefing the media, the director of the National Institute of Child Health (NICH), Dr Jamal Raza, said that the operation was successful since the four extra limbs that had belonged to the other parasitic twin, were successfully removed in a three-hour surgery by a team of five surgeons.

The baby will be kept in ICU for observation for almost two days to prevent any infection or complications.

This is, however, is just the first step, cautioned Dr Raza. It has been found that the baby has more internal organs of the parasitic twin, and they may need to be removed before the baby can be declared completely fit for survival. “This is just the first stage, and the surgeries are not over yet,” he said. They have already found that the intestine and bladder are joined with that of the other baby’s and need to be operated on at the next stage.

The team has said that it will carry out more tests after 24 hours. Since the baby is very young, he cannot be rushed into surgeries one after the other.

The baby will stay at NICH until all procedures are completed. His father was extremely happy and told The Express Tribune that as their hopes strengthen, they are planning to finalise a name.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 20^th, 2012.