Baby boy born with four legs and two sets of genitals has op to remove his parasitic twin
The little boy, born in southern India, was born with part of his "half-formed twin" attached to him
A BABY declared a “gift from God” after he was born with four legs has had an op to remove his half-formed “twin”.
The unnamed boy – who also had two sets of genitalia – was born in southern India.
The extra limbs and genitalia belonged to the boy’s parasitic twin.
Parasitic twins are similar to a conjoined twin but the second underdeveloped baby is not fully formed and is wholly dependent on the blood supply of the living baby.
Initially his proud parents Lalitamma, 23, and Chennabasava, 26, were reluctant to move him to a specialist hospital for surgery, due to the high cost.
But surgeons at Narayana Health City Hospital in Bengaluru, India, offered to treat the baby for free, and he underwent a complex three hour op.
Thankfully the little one didn’t share any major organs with the parasitic twin, and the operation was a success.
And the little one is now recovering and feeding from his mum, who called her second son “God’s gift to us”.
I thought it was a curse on our family. But then the almighty sent these living gods, the doctors to fix the deformity
Chennabasava
Proud dad Chennabasava, a farm labourer said: “I am really happy to see my baby after the corrective surgery.
“Now, he will grow up like a normal child without any deformity.
“This is our second child. Our first child was born normal and he is two years old now.
“But when I saw this my infant with four limbs and two genitals, I was shocked.
WHAT IS A PARASITIC TWIN?
Similar to a conjoined twin, in the case of a parasitic twin, one of the babies is not fully formed, and was never a viable foetus.
Parasitic twins happen when a twin embryo begins to develop in the womb.
The pair fail to fully separate and one embryo remains dominant, at the expense of its twin.
The underdeveloped twin is defined as being parasitic, rather than conjoined, because it is incompletely formed and wholly dependent on the body of its twin.
“I thought God might have punished me for my sins that I might have committed inadvertently.
“I thought it was a curse on our family.
“But then the almighty sent the these living gods, the doctors to fix the deformity and gift my son a new life and give us a new hope and reinstate our trust on human values of sympathy, empathy and compassion.”
The baby was born on January 21 at Dhadeasugure Primary Health Centre in Raichur, Karnataka, India.
He was admitted to the Narayana Health City Hospital in Bengaluru, India, a few days later.
A team of doctors, led by Dr Ashley D’Cruz, performed ultrasounds and x-rays to check the operation could go ahead a few days later.
Dr Sanjay Rao said: “Since the parasitic twin does not have its own heart and circulation it was getting blood supply from the baby.
“Therefore, it was important for us to know where the blood-supply and blood vessels are connected so that we could safely separate the two.
“The baby on its own was fine and didn’t have any major anomalies or complications.
“Therefore, it was very critical to define everything and plan the surgery meticulously.
“Our main precaution was to protect the interest of the baby.
“Care was taken to ensure there was no injury to the baby’s parts rather than the parasite’s part.”
Dr D’Cruz added: “Looking at the baby now, we don’t see any major issue as the baby is doing fine and has started feeding on mother’s milk.
“There could be some minor issues as the child grows up.
“We have to monitor the child to ensure things are going the right way.
“At present there is nothing to suggest that the child will have problems or may not have normal development.”
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