Hringtu Nu Daithlan Ruang Ah Ke Pathum He A Chuakmi Ngakchia (video file)

Pic shows: Doctor Chen Qiu inspecting the boy with three legs, Ma Yongfei.nnDoctors in China have successfully operated on an infant boy born with a third leg belong to a parasitic twin he had absorbed as a foetus.nnThe 11-month-old named Ma Yongfei had his treatment delayed because of his family¿s poor financial situation and a lack of medical expertise in his native Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in north-western China.nnHe was handed over to Professor Chen Qiu of the Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, Fudan University, after his parents were recommended the doctor.nn"When the child came to me, he was already more than 10 months old," Chen said, adding: "In his case, the ideal time to operate would¿ve been at six months, because the earlier the surgery, the better the chances of recovery."nnThe infant was diagnosed with ¿pygopagus parasiticus¿, a form of foetus in foetu characterised by asymmetric twinning, with the incomplete twin attached to the dominant twin by the hip.nnThe birth defect occurs at a probability of one in a million, the doctor said.nnThe boy¿s partially grown twin presented itself as a third leg growing near his genitals, which also affected the function of his own limbs.nnHe was also born with a congenital heart condition, reports said.nnFollowing extensive discussions with a large team of doctors and nurses from different departments, surgery to amputate the boy¿s third leg was carried out on 19th March.nnExplaining the plan going forward, Professor Chen said: "After removing the leg in the middle, we will begin correcting his right leg."nn"This is just the start," he noted, adding: "The child will require a lot of long-term corrective treatment."nn"At the same time, his congenital heart condition will also require surgery to treatment, so there will be a long road ahead for his family," Chen said.nn(ends)