Baby Born With 2 Spines And 4 Legs Recovering Following Surgery

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A 10-month-old girl who was born with 4 legs and 2 spines is recovering after Doctors successfully removed what has been identified as her twin’s partially formed body.

The baby, identified only has Dominique, was born in the Ivory Coast and was flown to Advocate Children’s Hospital in Park Ridge, Illinois, for the medical procedure.

John Ruge, a pediatric neurosurgeon at the hospital, told Reuters. “A parasitic twin is an identical twin that fails to fully separate in development. In other words, not another independent twin, but a twin that was dependent on her body system, such that Dominique’s heart and lungs provided the nourishment.”

On March 8, surgeons worked for 6 hours to remove the 2 extra legs near her shoulders and the second spine.

Reuters reported that after spending almost a week in the hospital, she was released to a Chicago-area foster family, who will take care of her until she returns to West Africa.

“It’s going rather well,” Frank Vicari, a pediatric and reconstructive surgeon, told Reuters. “She’s been home with ‘step-mom’ and just doing very, very well.”

Dominique’s family has not been identified, however, her foster family said they have been exchanging photos of her recovery.