A two-day-old born without organ development in the lower part of its body, died on Monday after doctors attempted a life-saving procedure at Niloufer Hospital.
The baby was born to a 26-year-old woman at Government Maternity Hospital in Petlaburj on Saturday. The woman gave birth to twins, a healthy girl and another baby with Sirenomelia, a condition that causes lower limbs to fuse together and prevents development of renal and digestive systems. Babies with Sirenomelia are colloquially referred to by doctors as ‘Mermaid Babies’.
Head of Paediatric Surgery Department at Niloufer Hospital, Dr. Srinivas Reddy, said surgeons performed a colostomy, a procedure to provide an opening for the colon.“The colon was about four to five inches shorter than normal. There were no kidneys and urinary bladder. We performed the surgery, but the baby did not survive,” said Dr. Reddy, adding that death in such babies is likely a result of problems in multiple organ-systems which are dependent on kidneys.
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The surgeons found female reproductive organs in the baby, whose gender was unclear at birth. An autopsy and pathological examination has been scheduled to understand the rare condition that is said to occur one-in-a-lakh births.