Surgery for infant with excess limbs draws attention

A surgery for an infant boy born with four hands and four legs has attracted great attention from local media and residents in the capital city of Guangdong province, Guangzhou Daily reported.

The boy, born on April 2, was to have surgery to remove the extra pairs of hands and legs, which are on his stomach, at the Guangzhou Hospital for Women and Children on Friday.

Yu Jiakang, the infant's primary surgeon, said the surgery will take three to four hours and is of great risk because the boy also suffers other congenital diseases, including congenital heart disease. The boy now weighs 3.05 kg.

The father, surnamed Chen, 29, said he would do his best to help treat his son’s conditions, no matter the difficulties he may face along the way.

Chen and his 22-year-old wife, surnamed Cai, are migrant workers who come from poor families in Huidong county, in eastern Guangdong.

The family has accrued heavy debts in their efforts to pay their son's medical bill.

Chen said local doctors failed to detect the baby's deformity in five prenatal examinations, including an ultrasound.