One-year-old freed from clutches of parasitic extra limbs

In a rare surgery, doctors at Narayana Hrudayalaya Women and Child Institute successfully removed a parasitic mass from the body of a one-year-old boy on Thursday.

Vittal, who hails from Madhya Pradesh, had an extra pair of limbs growing between his legs.

In the condition, known as dipygus or pygomelia, accessory limbs develop in the perineal region. It is considered to be a form of twinning.

According to Dr Ashley D’ Cruz, senior consultant paediatric surgeon and urologist, and director of the hospital, a small mistake  during the surgery could have caused damages in the boy’s urinary and bowel functions. But there were no complications during the surgery, he said.

“There were two challenges in this surgery,” Dr Sanjay Rao, senior consultant paediatric surgeon, said. “The parasitic mass was very close to the urinary tract and rectum. Even a minor mistake could have resulted in lifetime complications for the patient.

The main blood vessel from the artery was extended to the parasitic mass, and disconnecting this blood vessel without much blood loss was another big challenge,” he said.

The surgery, which started at noon, lasted six hours. The infant was stable and had been shifted to the post-operative ward, hospital authorities said.

Speaking about the reasons for such abnormalities, Dr Ashely said, “Many such cases were reported from Iraq after the chemical warfare. Contamination of water and food by plastic material is one of the main reasons for such complications.”