Boy born with rare abnormality undergoes surgery in Shanghai to remove his ‘third leg’
The hospital said that the complicated operation was a success, though more surgeries are likely to follow for little Xiao Fei
Yesterday, an 11-month-old boy with an extremely rare developmental abnormality underwent a long, complex surgery in Shanghai to remove his “third leg.”
The boy, named Xiao Fei, suffers from “fetus in fetu,” a condition in which a parasitic twin fetus grows inside the body of its host twin. The abnormality occurs in around one in 500,000 or one in a million live births.
Xiao Fei’s mother did not undergo regular pregnancy checks, so the abnormality went undetected until birth. Xiao Fei was born in Xinjiang, but was eventually moved to Shanghai for treatment, The Paper reports.
As you’d expect, the third leg growing from his pelvis has resulted in numerous issues with the boy’s urinary and digestive systems. He also suffers from a range of other problems, including a deformed right foot that is shaped like a hand, making it unable to function properly.
Surgeons in Shanghai operated on poor Xiao Fei for 10 hours yesterday to safely remove his middle leg. Making the operation even more complex, they also cut off the boy’s right foot and replaced it with the foot from the third leg.
The tricky operation was reportedly a success, however, Xiao Fei is likely to have to endure others in the upcoming years. Doctors have already said that when he is three years old, he will have to come in for surgery to elongate his right leg, which will not grow normally.
You can watch a news report on the operation below:
[Images via The Paper]
