Doctors in Shanghai Tuesday successfully removed the extra arm from a baby born with three arms.
"The surgery was not very risky, but we had to be careful because of the age of the infant and to ensure we didn't damage the other arm," Dr. Chen Bochang, chief surgeon and director of the orthopedics department at the Shanghai Children's Medical Center, told Shanghai Daily.
The boy, identified only as Jie-Jie, was born April 1 with what doctors say is the most complete third arm ever recorded. Neither of the two arms on the boy's left side was completely functional.
Surgeons removed the smaller and less developed arm. They are unsure if the boy will get complete use of his remaining left arm, which Chen said has good circulation but poorly developed muscles and nerves.
The boy has only one kidney and seems likely to develop curvature of the spine as he grows, doctors said.
Copyright 2006 by United Press International
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