8-limbed girl's surgery a spectacular success

MSNBC ^ | Nov. 6, 2007 | AP

[niftyspiffy]

Lakshmi, second from left, sits in her mother Poonam's lap as she poses next to her father Shambhu and brother Mithilesh, right, at the Sparsh Hospital in Bangalore, India, on Nov. 5. Doctors began operating Nov. 6 on the two-year-old girl born with four arms and four legs.

BANGALORE, India - Doctors in southern India completed a grueling 24-hour operation Wednesday on a girl born with four arms and four legs that surgeons said will give the 2-year-old a chance at a normal life.

The surgery went "wonderfully well," said Dr. Sharan Patil, who led a team of more than 30 surgeons in the marathon procedure to remove Lakshmi's extra limbs, salvage her organs and rebuild her pelvis area.

"This girl can now lead as good a life as anyone else," Patil said from a hospital in the southern Indian city of Bangalore.

Lakshmi, who has been revered by some in her village as the reincarnation of a Hindu goddess she was named for, was born joined at the pelvis to a "parasitic twin" that stopped developing in her mother's womb. The surviving fetus absorbed the limbs, kidneys and other body parts of the undeveloped fetus.

...

"This is a very rare occurrence," said Dr. Doug Miniati a pediatric surgeon at the University of California, San Francisco, who was not involved in the surgery. Miniati said the surgery was extremely complicated but her chances of survival were greater because she was not joined at the heart or brain.

[niftyspiffy]

Indian doctors at the Sparsh Hospital discuss as they watch a medical diagram of two-year-old girl Lakshmi, ahead of her surgery at the hospital in Bangalore, 05 November 2007.

Um, wow.. o_O

(side note: Article is an exerpt.)

[lilylangtree]

Even though she was thought of as a goddess in her village, late when she realized what was going on I speculate that she would have been miserable. When I read about this, I thought of an episode of CSI dealing with the condition of chimera. Only in this little girl, it was worse.

[ari-freedom]

Indians have a ‘thing’ for 4 armed people

[jas3]

Intelligent Design PING !

jas3

[Theresawithanh]

Wonderful news that the surgery went well. I hope she has a long and happy life.

[txhurl]

Their artwork depicts multi-limbed people.

[MrB]

They repaired a bunch of stuff - but did they remove her spinnerets? sorry...

[soozla]

AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW...................

Good luck, little peanut, may you live a long, healthy and happy life!!

[CarrotAndStick]

:^)

Humour aside:

http://specials.rediff.com/news/2007/nov/07sld01.htm

 

 

Medical marvel gives Lakshmi a new life

November 7, 2007
 

It was a historic moment for Indian medical science when a team of 36 doctors successfully operated upon two-year-old Lakshmi -- a conjoined twin.

A beaming team of doctors headed by Dr Sharan Shivraj Patil announced on Wednesday morning that the 27-hour-long surgery had been completed and Lakshmi was safe now. The doctor was, however, quick to add that she was still under observation.

Doctors said the operation was expected to last 40 hours, but they were able to complete it in 27 hours. The doctors who started operating upon Lakshmi on Tuesday had successfully separated the spines of the conjoined twin.

The orthopedic surgeon had reconstructed the pelvic wing, Dr Patil said, adding that the major achievement was bringing the pelvic ring bones together. "This almost does away with another process," Dr Patil said.

 

Lakshmi was born two years on Diwali in Araria village in Bihar. Although the people of the village treated her as a re-incarnation of Goddess Lakshmi, for doctors she was an ischiopagus conjoined twin. One of the twins is headless and has two pairs of arms and legs. The villagers offered to build a temple in her name and there was also a circus company, which had offered the parents a lot of money, if they gave her to them. The parents who are very attached to this child rushed to Delhi, but the doctors said that no surgery could be performed. By then, Dr Patil of the Sparsh hospital had read about the girl in the news papers and rushed to Bihar and offered free medical help. He said the parents did not have to worry about the medical costs before bringing the child to Bangalore. The complicated operation cost Rs 26 lakh.   Image: Lakshmi with Dr Patil prior to her operation.   There were joyous scenes at the hospital when the doctor announced that the operation had been a success. Lakshmi's parents who were present at the hospital were anxious throughout the operation. The moment doctors gave them the good news, both broke down in joy. Lakshmi's father Shambu said this was the biggest Diwali gift. "Lakshmi was born two years ago on Diwali and this year, she is okay. What more can I ask for," Shambu said. Dr Patil said doctors were very excited and did not intend to go home for the next two days. The biggest challenge was to maintain stability in the child while the operation was being performed, he said, adding that another achievement was that they did not jeoparadise any aspect of Lakshmi during the operation. He thanked all those who had prayed for the child, including actor Shah Rukh Khan who had sent in his wishes.   Doctors say it is too early to say what would happen to Lakshmi next. This is a rare condition and such surgeries take place only once in 50,000 cases. There have been similar cases in the past, but the success rate has been negligible. Doctors said it may take at least a few more months before Lakshmi could be normal. They, however, say that the real challenge will start now and the child has to be monitored continuously. The parents say they will stay on in Bangalore until their child recovers and then go back to their village in Bihar. They have not yet seen their child after the surgery. According to the doctors, the child will be on ventilator for the next 48 hours and the parents could only see her later in the evening. However, they will not be able to talk to her.

 

 

[I still care]

I can see where people would believe that she was lakshmi.

[Larry Lucido]

Wonder if their gods and goddesses were modelled upon folks with similar defects born millenia ago?

Oh, and thank God for modern medicine.

[Abathar]

They named her after the goddess Kali.

What little I know of the history of that particular goddess isn't very nice, people who worshiped her did some horrible things in her name.

[Abathar]

Isn’t she also known as Kali? Same image but very dark if memory serves.

[null and void]

They repaired a bunch of stuff - but did they remove her spinnerets? sorry...

You are a bad man...

[CarrotAndStick]

Wonder if their gods and goddesses were modelled upon folks with similar defects born millenia ago?

No, according to the mythology, the multiple arms (only arms, not legs) are to symbolise different "powers" the goddess in question possesses and grants (each arm holding the symbolising object). The Hinduism of the Bhagavad-Gita on the other hand, has no real mention of any multi-armed god/goddess. It instead revolves around the life of Krishna, the human avatar of a formless god.

[null and void]

Kali is the goddess of destruction.
Lakshmi is the goddess of wealth.

Two totally different entities.

[txhurl]

Children were daily sacrificed to Kali.

[SWAMPSNIPER]

The religion of her parents doesn’t matter, the pretty little kid deserves a chance. “There, but for the Grace of God, go I”.

[reagan_fanatic]

God bless that little girl.

[JimSEA]

Kali is usually depicted with a severed head, a sword and a cup to catch the blood of the head. Lakshmi, also with four or more arms, has lotus blossoms and gold coins. Quite different attributes and, fortunately for the little girl, Lakshmi is associated with and venerated in the nonviolent Jain religion as well as Hindu.

Kali worship can be very violent and bloody indeed. However, not all Hindu's worship the same Gods and to many, Kali represent the truth of destruction and violence in the world by there is no requirement to follow her bidding. As a friend of mine is fond of saying, "Bloody complicated so I became a Buddhist." (And Buddhism isn't complicated? LOL)