An Iraqi baby born with eight limbs got a new lease of life after doctors successfully removed the extra arms and legs through surgery. The seven-month-old Karam was born with a very rare condition called polymelia, a birth defect in which the affected individual has more than the usual number of limbs. The team of doctors at the Jaypee Hospital in Noida performed the critical surgery in three stages. “When Karam was brought to the hospital for the first time, he was just two weeks old and his condition was very critical. After evaluating his condition and considering the risk factors, we decided to operate on him in multiple stages,” said Dr. Gaurav Rathore, senior consultant in the Orthopaedics and Joint Replacement Department of the hospital. In the first stage, Karam’s club feet were treated and two limbs protruding out of his stomach were removed. The child then went back to Iraq and his family was in touch with the doctors through phone and email for important instructions. In the next stage of the surgery, the other two additional limbs were also removed from his body. “Like any other normal kid, Karam also has two legs now,” Dr. Rathore said. However, as his left leg was not developed completely, doctors performed another surgery in which the muscles of the removed limbs were transplanted to his under-developed leg. Along with this, Karam’s crooked back was also treated with pelvic osteotomy surgery. He also suffered from corrected transposition of the great arteries, a condition in which the heart’s formation is opposite to its natural biological formation, which was set right. Doctors said Karam is recovering well. Source
