Pray for Lakshmi Tatma

 

EDIT: Tuesday November 13 Read here.

EDIT FRIDAY from AP:

BANGALORE, India — A 2-year-old Indian girl born with four arms and four legs regained consciousness Friday, wiggled her toes and smiled at her parents, 48 hours after massive surgery removed the extra limbs, doctors said.

Lakshmi, who has been revered by some in her village as a reincarnation of the four-armed Hindu goddess she was named for, was still in intensive care. But she was “doing well” as doctors slowly stopped sedating her, said Dr. Mamatha Patil, Sparsh Hospital spokeswoman.

“She had smiled at us and moved her limbs,” Patil said. Besides her toes, the girl also moved her arms, Patil said.

Doctors took the girl off a respirator later Friday but were still monitoring her closely during the critical 72-hour period following the operation. She was allowed to spend some time with her parents and seemed a bit confused by her ordeal, chief surgeon Sharan Patil said.

“Lakshmi appeared very perplexed and kept staring at her legs, wondering where the rest of her body had disappeared,” he said.

EDIT Thursday morning: An xray of Lakshmi’s corrected body has been released

Intially her body was this way:

EDIT 7:15 am Wednesday : From news conference after the surgery

Wonderful news! Surgery great success!

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EDIT: 2:00 pm Wednesday from Fox News

The doctors worked through the night to remove the extra limbs and organs. By midnight, a team of neurologists had separated the fused spines while orthopedic surgeons removed most of the “parasite,” carefully identifying which organs and internal structures belonged to the girl, said Patil.

Then began the difficult job of reconstructing Lakshmi’s lower body.

The operation included transplanting a good kidney into Lakshmi from the twin. The team also used tissue from the twin to help rebuild the pelvic area, one of the most complicated parts of the surgery, Patil said.

“Beyond our expectations, the reconstruction worked wonderfully well,” Patil said. “We were able to bring the pelvic bones together successfully, which takes away the need for another procedure,” he said.

However, she will have to have further treatments and possible surgery for clubbed feet before she would be able to walk, he said.

Lakshmi’s parents, who were expected to see their daughter later Wednesday, said they were very relieved.

“It will be great to see our daughter have a normal body,” her father Shambhu, who only goes by one name, told reporters. “We were worried for her future.

EDIT: Wednesday morning

BANGALORE, India — Doctors in India completed a grueling 24-hour operation Wednesday on a girl born with four arms and four legs, and surgeons said the 2-year-old — revered by many as a reincarnated goddess — has a chance at a normal life.

The surgery went “wonderfully well,” said Dr. Sharan Patil who led a team of more than 30 surgeons at a hospital in the southern city of Bangalore that performed the marathon procedure to remove the child’s extra limbs, salvage her organs and rebuild her pelvis area.

Doctors say the operation will give Lakshmi, a girl from rural northern India, a chance to start life again after two years in which her parents hid her from deeply superstitious villagers — who alternately revered her as a Hindu deity and tried to buy her for a circus.

“This girl can now lead as good a life as anyone else,” Patil said.

After I read her story, my heart was touched. When I saw the beautiful face of Lakshmi and her lovely parents and brother, and read what an exceptional family this is, I was deeply moved. Lakeshmi is two years old and was born with four arms and four legs. At the moment I am writing this, she is undergoing extensive surgery that will probably last 30-40 hours.

Lakshmi is joined at the pelvis to a “parasitic twin” that stopped developing in the mother’s womb. The surviving fetus absorbed the limbs, kidneys and other body parts of the undeveloped fetus.

The complications for Lakshmi’s surgery are myriad: The two spines are merged, she has four kidneys, entangled nerves, two stomach cavities and two chest cavities. She cannot stand up or walk.

A team of 30 doctors was removing the extra limbs and organs, surgery that if successful would give her a good chance to live past adolescence. They have already separated the fused spines and the next step will be to remove the extra limbs and the rest of the “parasite,” said Dr. Sharan Patil, the orthopedic surgeon leading the operation.

These reports from her surgical team were posted late Tuesday night.

 

Surgeons in India are removing the excess limbs, organs and other body parts of Lakshmi’s “parasitic twin”.

Her twin stopped developing in their mother’s womb and Lakshmi absorbed the limbs, kidneys and other body parts of the undeveloped foetus.

Lead surgeon Dr Sharan Patil said: “The child has been responding very well.”

Fox News

I wish that every baby in this world gets parents like the parents of Lakshmi Tatma. Her parents were not rich but they love their daughter with all their heart. Lakshmi Tatma was born in a poor family and she had abnormal body condition with 8 limbs.
India is famous for its neglect of female babies. Many couples kill the female fetus in womb and this is causing shortage of female babies in India that is resulting in renting a wife and gambling a wife.

Against such a backdrop, the parents of are really exceptional and one in a million in
India. They were offered handsome amount of money if they agreed to sell their daughter in a circus. They did not sell their daughter and instead they tried to take care of her in the best possible way despite the fact that Lakshmi Tatma had little possibility of having any normal life in future. Her father is a day laborer and naturally, he is always under pressure about money.

So, Pray for Lakshmi Tatma. I really wish that the operation becomes successful and Lakshmi Tatma becomes normal and her parents can be happy.

From Fox News

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