Madaktari waondoa miguu minne ya ziada kwa mtoto

A baby boy born with six legs has had a successful operation to remove his four extra limbs, doctors said today.

The youngster from Karachi in Pakistan was believed to have had a parasitic twin, which had not developed properly in the womb, resulting in the extra legs.

A team of five doctors had fought to save the boy's life at the National Institute of Child Health in Karachi.

The head of the NICH, Jamal Raza, said the abnormal birth was the result of a genetic disease which would affect only one in a million or more babies

Karachi - A baby born with six limbs to a Pakistani couple has had a successful operation to remove four extra limbs doctors say. The baby believed to be one of parasitic twins was born to the wife of an X-ray technician.

Digital Journal reported that the baby was born in Sukkur, a city in Sindh Province, in southeastern Pakistan, but was taken to the National Institute of Child Health in Karachi after it was born.

According to Jamal Raza, director of the institute, the baby is one of parasitic twins, and his conjoined twin was born incompletely developed giving the impression that the child has extra legs.

Raza explained that in strict medical terms, the baby does not have six legs, only two, and that the other four "legs" are the limbs of its conjoined twin.

According to Daily Mail, before doctors could operate, they first had to work out carefully which of the limbs belonged to the boy and which belonged to his conjoined twin.

Doctors examined MRI, blood tests and CT scan reports before taking a decision to perform the surgery which lasted eight hours. Daily Mail reports the operation was performed in stages.

Digital Journal reported Raza had explained: "Operating on such a baby is not an easy task as proper assessments need to be done first.

We need to figure out whether the baby has his twin’s limbs or his own. We also need to consider how much the internal organs have developed as the latter could complicate matters and decrease the baby’s chances of surviving."

News.com reports that Raza said the surgeons successfully removed the deformed internal and external limbs of the baby during the operation. He said:

"The baby is in now the intensive care unit of the hospital under the supervision of the doctors and going through the post-operation recovery. So far he is stable and I hope he will recover."

Daily Mail reports the Sindh provincial department said they are examining the baby to determine whether he needs any further treatment to live a normal life.

According to News.com, doctors are examining the baby because of the possibility that he may have complications in the future due to removal of some of the internal limbs.

Imran Shaikh, the baby's father, said he was grateful that his son had been successfully operated on. He said:

"We are a poor family. I am thankful to the government and doctors for helping us successful operating my baby."

Digital Journal reported that after Shaikh made an appeal for help, the Sindh Governor offered assistance and directed hospital officials to ensure the baby gets the medical attention it needs.

News.com reports that Raza confirmed that the parents paid nothing for the operation. He said that a government charity provided more than $6600 for the purchase of medicine and equipment.