Doctors at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Delhi successfully performed a rare surgery on a 17-year-old boy to remove two extra lower limbs hanging from his abdomen.
The condition, known as an incomplete parasitic twin, is a rare phenomenon in which an underdeveloped twin, failing to fully form, attaches to the host twin and survives by drawing nutrients from the host’s body.
Dr. Asuri Krishna, Chief Surgeon at AIIMS Delhi, explained, “This condition is what we call an incomplete parasitic twin. It is a twin that has not fully developed but continues to feed on the host. This surgery is particularly challenging because the parasitic twin derives its blood supply, nerve connections, and other essentials from the host. The key challenge is to identify these connections, carefully ligate them, and then separate the twin. We also need to assess whether it has attachments to abdominal organs such as the liver, intestines, or colon. Fortunately, in this case, there were no major attachments.”
The surgery was particularly complex due to the shared blood supply and nerve connections between the parasitic limbs and the host’s body.
Dr. Maneesh Singhal, from the Burn & Plastic Surgery department at AIIMS Delhi, highlighted the surgical challenges: “The biggest challenge was its size. It was quite large, and imaging through CT scans and ultrasounds showed that it was internally spread. There was also a significant amount of blood—more than 1.5 liters—within the parasitic twin, leading to a sudden loss of blood during the procedure. Fortunately, we encountered no major complications, and the surgery was successful.”
Dr. V.K. Bansal, Professor in the Surgery Department at AIIMS Delhi, recalled the initial concerns upon examining the patient. “Our primary concern was whether the parasitic limb had any connection to vital organs such as the heart, liver, or intestines, as this would have made the surgery much more risky and complicated.”
Despite the challenges, the surgery was a success, and the patient is now recovering well. Dr. Krishna stated, “The patient, who is 16-17 years old, is doing very well post-surgery. He was extremely happy with the outcome.”
The medical team also reflected on the emotional impact of the case, with Dr. Bansal expressing sympathy for the boy’s long struggle. He added, “It is heartbreaking that the child had to live with this condition for so many years… Our society still struggles to provide adequate support for such cases.”
(ANI)
