Fortis Hospitals, Bangalore performed a complicated limb removal surgery on a six-year-old boy. The patient who born with eight limbs with a parasitic twin protruding out his abdomen has completely recovered.

A team of five specialists led by Dr Ramcharan Thiagarajan conducted a four-hour long surgery to remove the four limbed parasite and give the boy a new lease. The patient who is ready to be discharged can lead a normal life without any physical difficulty.

Since the patient came from a lower economic category and his father was a construction work, Fortis Hospital’s intention was to save the patient and help the boy led a normal life, there were no surgery or any hospitalization charges levied.

The young patient, Deepak from Bihar was born with the parasitic twin growing out of his abdomen and doctors from his village at Bhelhari, 125 kilometres from Patna stated that his survival chances were low.

The patient was referred to Fortis Hospital. His MRI scans revealed that the parasitic twin was protruding from the patient’s lower chest and abdomen and fused sharing the liver, intestine among other structures. Clinical examination indicated that the parasite was attached to the lower part of the chest and most of the upper abdomen. CT scan reports showed vascular anomalies and presence of a huge hernia.

The specialist team comprised liver and digestive surgeons, a radiologist, anaesthesiologist, neonatologist and child psychologist. These included Dr Murali Chakravarthy, chief anaesthesiologist and Dr Prakash Vemgal, consultant neonatologist & paediatric intensivist. Although the surgery was a challenging effort but doctors at Fortis were convinced that with the expertise and available infrastructure of the cardiac and liver unit they could help save the case.

The surgery began with incision on the parasite to save skin and muscle which was used at the time of closure. The parasitic content was meticulous dissected off from liver and excised without compromising on the patient’s internal organs. The fused muscle providing strength of the parasite was used to reconstruct Deepak’s abdominal wall, said Dr Ramcharan Thiagarajan.

Deepak’s recovery was fast and he was moved out from the paediatric ICU and could walk on the second day after surgery.

Commenting on the surgical success, Vishal Bali, CEO, Fortis Hospital, Bangalore said that our commitment in contributing towards clinical procedures reflects that modern medicine can heal lives.