Baby Born With 4 Limbs Successfully Operated in Adamawa

The two-months-old girl who was born with a
rare conprivate part defect called
“dipygus” (having small extra legs between the
normal legs) has been successfully operated
upon by doctors at the Federal Medical Centre,
Yola.
The girl was born in Konkol community of Maiha
Local Government Area of Adamawa, where the
residents think she is a spirit. The baby was
subsequently moved to Yola, the Adamawa State
capital for treatment.
Renowned paediatric surgeon, Professor Awwal
Abubakar, who led the team of doctors that
performed the surgery, described it as successful,
saying “We are happy to report that the baby is
doing well, but will require periodic monitoring as
she grows.”
Mr. Abubakar said the surgery, which lasted for
about two hours, involved a team of doctors,
surgeons, and nurses, and was considered an
accomplishment by the hospital.
He advised Nigerians to report such birth defects to
medical experts and not be unnecessarily
superstitious.
“We need to actually sensitize our communities to
accept that this problem will be tackled and those
babies are going to live normal life. So there is no
need to deny them access to good medical care,”
he said.
He commended the management of the Federal
Medical Centre, FMC, for bearing the cost of the
surgery, with the hope that the gesture would be
sustained.
The joyous father of the yet to be named baby,
Mani Margi, praised Allah for saving the life of his
first child.
“I am in short of words, praise be to lord, for saving
the life of my only born baby. For the doctors and
FMC, I have nothing to utter, but may Allah reward
them abundantly,” he said.
Earlier, the Chief Medical Director of the hospital,
Aliyu Danburam, said that in a bid to assist the
needy, the centre introduced a social welfare unit
that has assisted several people.
The director, who spoke through the hospital’s
spokesman, Adamu Dodo, said the hospital
management took charge of the cost of the surgery.
“The Social welfare scheme in collaboration with
other religious organizations has assisted dozens of
such patients that are in critical condition. It was
aimed at putting hope and smile on their faces, as
you can see today,” he said.