Doctors Rush to Save Baby Born with Six Legs

By Philip Caulfield, NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Credit: opposingviews.com

This handout image from the National Institute of Child Health in Pakistan shows a newborn child with six legs as he lies in an intensive care unit at a Karachi Hospital.

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    A newly-born child with six legs at an intensive care unit ward at a hospital in Karachi, Pakistan.

    (Growingyourbbaby.com)

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April 17, 2012 Updated Apr 17, 2012 at 12:05 PM PDT

Doctors in Pakistan are battling to save a baby boy born with six legs due to a rare genetic disease.

The little boy was born last week to parents in Sukkur, a city in Sindh Province in southeastern Pakistan, and was being cared for by doctors at the National Institute of Child Health in Karachi.

Jamal Raza, the institute's director, said the child had a conjoined twin, which was premature, resulting in the extra limbs.

“One of the babies is not fully developed, giving the present physical structure to the baby,” Raza told The News Tribe, a UK-based website that covers Asia and the Middle East.

The baby’s father, Imran Shaikh, pleaded with the government and charities to pay for the child’s surgery.

“I can’t afford to visit Karachi and get treatment for my baby,” Shaikh, an X-ray technician, said. “I appeal to philanthropists and the government to come forward for the treatment.”

Raza said the institute’s doctors were working on a plan for surgery, and were considering calling on foreign experts for help.

An expert told News.com.au that the condition afflicts just one in 1 million babies.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/doctors-pakistan-fight-save-six-legged-baby-boy-article-1.1062472#ixzz1sKAXewJX