Lakshmi Tatma 8 limbed baby journey to recovery Before, during surgery, recovery, and year later

is an Indian girl born in 2005 in a village in Araria district, Bihar, having "4 arms and 4 legs." She was actually a pair of ischiopagus conjoined twins where one twin was headless due to its head atrophying and chest underdeveloping in the womb. The result looked like one child with four arms and four legs.
Before the operation, while being treated for the ulcer and the fever, she was again sometimes an object of worship as an incarnation of the goddess Lakshmi. She could drag herself around, although impeded by the trailing parasitic twin.

She was the subject of a surgery carried out by Dr. Sharan Patil and 30 other physicians which included Chief Anesthetist Dr. Yohannan John at Sparsh Hospital in Bangalore, India.

The twins' two pelvises formed a single combined ring. Each twin had one working kidney.[1] Lakshmi had a second kidney which was necrotic. The autosite's feet were affected by clubfoot.

Her abdominal aorta gave off iliac branches to the autosite's legs and continued as a main trunk artery which gave off iliac branches to the parasite's legs and continued, and finally forked into the parasite's subclavian arteries.

The parasitic twin's spine and abdomen merged with Lakshmi's body. The twins' backbones were joined end-to-end and nerves were entangled. Lakshmi could not crawl normally or walk, but she could drag herself around somewhat. Doctors surmised early on that without the operation, she would not be able to live into her teens. The surgery began on Tuesday, 6 November 2007, at 7 am IST (1:30 AM UTC), and was planned to last 40 hours at the most. An estimated cost of over USD$625,000 was paid entirely by the hospital's charitable wing [2]Sparsh Foundation. A team of more than 30 surgeons worked in shifts. The surgery lasted for 19 hours. The doctors gave Lakshmi a 75-80% chance of survival during the surgery.

The steps of the operation were: 1. (8 hours): Abdominal operation: remove the parasite's abdominal organs.
2. Remove the autosite's necrotic kidney and replace it with the parasite's kidney. Tie off the blood vessels that supplied the parasite.
3. Move the reproductive system and the urinary bladder into the autosite.
4. (6 to 8 hours) Amputate the parasite's legs: this caused heavy bleeding. Cut the joined backbone: the nervous system around the join was found to be extremely chaotic, and care had to be taken to avoid causing paralysis.
5. Separation, at 12.30 am on 7 November 2007. The combined pelvic ring was divided through or near the parasite's hip joints and not at the pubic symphyses. The remaining incomplete pelvic ring was cut and bent to make the ends meet, and not left as an open part-circle. [3]
6. External fixation to hold the parts of the pelvis in place. This caused the pelvis to close in 3 weeks to the normal position.
7. (4 hours): Suturing. Operation completed at 10 am on 7 November 2007.

After the operation, the camera showed the amputated parasite and its legs laid out so that for a while they looked like a separate human form.

Lakshmi's recovery so far has been swift and satisfactory. Within a week after the surgery, the doctors held a press conference showing Lakshmi being carried by her father. Her feet were still bandaged. She was in the hospital for a month after the operation.

Afterwards, she and her family moved to Sucheta Kriplani Shiksha Niketan [4] in Jodhpur in Rajasthan, where Lakshmi joined a school for disabled children and her father got a job on that school's farm.

As of February, 2008, a later operation is planned to bring her legs closer together. Another operation may be needed to rebuild pelvic floor muscles. [5]

The last view of her in the television program showed her making an effort to walk, with her thighs fastened together with a spacer to keep her pelvic ring in place while it heals, and casts on her shins and legs.

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[freeoffaith]

So glad her parents set cultural superstition aside and did what was best for their little Lakshmi. Lovely story .. but the decision and treatments must have been an incredibly tough time for the family. My respect for them and the medical practitioners involved.

[pokegeek98]

She's a miracle.

So glad the surgery was such a success.

;' )

[akamaru3]

almost 700000 dollars was used for this surgery, well spent. taking apart a child's body to rearrange it completely and removing an attached nervous system and having the outcome being a normal girl, from what i've seen. true medical breakthrough

[Jassmine111]

God bless her

[chandlerPAxo]

she is an absolute doll (:

[DoctorShepp]

She is so cute! Look at that smile. :)

[onesaleaday4u]

Great vid?

[802wolves]

HOLY SHIT. HOLY FUCKING SHIT. SHIT BALLS FUCKING SHIT. 

[joeysamek]

SHE COULD ov kicked 4 timed moar ass........

[geoffroymen]

Looks like they never figured a shape of pants that she could put on...

[dark123kitty]

Thats so amazing :3!^^ but think about it ... when she is 13-14 years old and says in her classroom: I was born with 4 legt and 4 arms :D! nobody would believe her :b...

[CoolerThanYou518]

This is a true miracle-3 she went from being connected to her twin who sadly didn't make it, to a healthy little girl. She IS a goddess.

But I'm wondering what they did with the extra limbs. I hope they donated them to science to help other people.