Rare 8-limbed baby undergoes successful operation

eight limbed baby india iraq karam (7 News)
The surgery on seven-month-old Karam is being hailed as a world first (7 News)

An Iraqi baby with a rare condition which saw him born with eight limbs has successfully undergone surgery to remove his extra arms and legs.

The surgery on seven-month-old Karam is being hailed as a world first.

"He was brought to us when he was just two weeks old and his condition was quite unique. Most of the surgeries we performed had not been attempted before," senior orthopaedic consultant Gaurav Rathore told media.

Karam's father, Dr Sarmad Ahmed Nadar, flew him to India's Jaypee Hospital for the surgery.

It took three stages - first, the two limbs sticking out of his stomach were removed, then he had to have a cardiac complication fixed. In the third stage the final two limbs were removed.

"He is my only child and the first-born is always special. There were a lot of risks but I never lost hope," Dr Ahmed said.

"Years of civil war and violence have left the medical services in Iraq in a shambles. We were alarmed over Karam's condition and started looking for treatment options in other countries and we found that there is a cure in India."

Karam will still need some other procedures as he grows older in order to correct other anomalies.

Dr Rathore said there are only five or six known cases of the condition worldwide, which occurs when a conjoined twin doesn't fully form and is partially absorbed by the other foetus.

Karam and his family are due to fly back to Iraq on Monday (local time), according to local media.


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