'Little Mermaid' stable after legs separated
Reuters, Lima
A Peruvian baby girl known as the "Little Mermaid" is able to wriggle her two legs after her fused limbs were surgically separated on Wednesday, in what local doctors said was the second such operation worldwide. Thirteen-month-old Milagros Cerron was born with a rare defect called Mermaid syndrome, or sirenomelia, which often kills sufferers within a few hours of birth. Doctors hope the girl, whose name means "miracles" in Spanish, will be able to walk by her second birthday. "Fifteen hours after surgery ended ... her vital signs are stable and she's awake," said Dr. Luis Rubio, the surgeon who led an 11-member team during the overnight operation.
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Combo made out of two photographs showing Peruvian Doctor Luis Rubio holding 13-month-old baby Milagors Cerron, affected by the congenital malformation named Sirenomelia prior to her surgery on May 31 at a hospital in Lima (at left), and another one at right depicting her legs already separated, after a successful five-hour-long intervention on Wednesday. PHOTO: AFP |
