Father praises 'miracle' operation

Published on Wednesday 14 November 2007 00:31

SHE was born in a remote Indian village with a rare condition that gave her eight limbs - and her parents were too poor to pay for medical help.

But yesterday, Lakshmi Tatma, two, made her first public appearance since a hospital-funded operation to remove her extra arms and legs.

Holding her in his arms for the first time in almost a week, her delighted father said the doctors were "like gods" - but even they admitted they were amazed at the progress of their patient.

"Her recovery is God's will, just as it was God's will that she was born like Lakshmi in the first place, but what the doctors have done is like a miracle," said Sahmbu Tatma. "The doctors are like gods - they have made Lakshmi a normal little girl. It was my dream and it has come true."

The youngster, who was named after the four-armed Hindu goddess of wealth, appeared subdued - although her mother said she was "behaving exactly like her old self" - and her legs were in a blue cast.

A week ago, medics operated for 27 hours to remove what amounted to Lakshmi's headless identical twin sister, who was joined at the pelvis and who did not develop and separate properly in the womb. The rare birth defect is known as a parasitic twin.

As well as cutting off the extra limbs, surgeons also removed extra internal organs and corrected a deformed skeleton.

Dr Sharan Patil, who led a surgical team of about 30 at the Sparsh Hospital in Bangalore, said: "All the surgeons' lives have been enriched by our contact with Lakshmi and I really feel it has been our privilege. By no means are we completely done with Lakshmi but so far, so good."

He said the plaster casts on her legs were to hold her feet steady and keep her "raw and extensive wounds" together.

He added: "It has been a long journey for Poonam, Shambu and Lakshmi - I first saw her at the end of September in her remote home village and to see the stage we have reached today is heart-warming."

Lakshmi, who is in a stable condition, was discharged from intensive care yesterday and was eating solid food.

She will need another operation to correct her club feet, but will probably not be well enough to undergo the procedure for at least a couple of weeks. However, doctors say she could be out of hospital shortly after Christmas.

Her mother, Poonam, said: "Lakshmi is behaving exactly like her old self, it's amazing.

"She remembers exactly who she likes and dislikes - some people have come in her room and she points and screams at them until they leave. But she is smiling again and happy to see those she likes.

"She has developed a taste for the hospital canteen's raspberry milkshake, which we resorted to when she refused normal milk. But, other than that, she is the same as before, only with two legs.

"She has a very sweet tooth, so we have been treating her a little. She's been bought a beautiful pink dress - for the first time in her life she can fit in normal clothes."

Her father added: "She recognised us as soon as she became conscious after the operation. We are very happy to see her recovering."

Lakshmi was born in Rampur Kodar Katti, a remote village without electricity or water in the crime-ridden state of Bihar, 20 miles from India's border with Nepal.

Her poverty-stricken parents, who earn less than 50p a day as casual labourers, were turned away from every government hospital they visited for help.

But after a visit from Dr Patil, the hospital's foundation agreed to fund the operation, which cost nearly 100,000.

Children born with deformities in rural India are often viewed as reincarnated gods and as news of Lakshmi's birth spread, locals queued to receive a blessing from the baby.

But her parents were forced to keep her in hiding after they were approached by men offering money in exchange for putting their daughter in a circus.

PARASITIC TWINS

BY VIRTUE of her extra limbs, Lakshmi Tatma was revered by some in rural India as being a god - but in fact she was suffering from a recognised birth defect.

A parasitic twin - also known as an asymmetrical or unequal conjoined twin - is the result of the same processes that produce conjoined twins. They are formed when a twin embryo begins developing in utero but does not fully separate, and one embryo maintains dominant development at the expense of the other.

Unlike conjoined twins, one stops developing in gestation and attaches to the otherwise healthy twin. The undeveloped twin is parasitic, rather than conjoined, because it is incomplete or dependent on the body functions of the complete foetus.