Nepalese toddler Gaurab Garum’s fifth limb comes from his undeveloped twin.. and is continuing to increase in size
THIS two-year-old Nepalese boy has a third arm growing out of his back, a deformity which has left his parents with a heart-wrenching choice which could leave his paralysed.
The arm, which doesn’t move, is the remains of Gaurab Garum’s undeveloped twin and is growing from a split in the toddler’s spinal column.
The split, known as spina bifida, affects around one in 1,500 babies – but the extra arm and hand is much rarer.
As it continues to grow it is starting to affect Gaurab’s sleep, and his mum Kalpena is worried her son soon won’t be able to fit into T-shirts.
Now Kalpena and husband Ashish face the impossible decision of whether or not to have the fifth limb removed – knowing that it could leave Gaurab paralysed.
The family live in a deeply religious Hindu community in the Tanahun district, and Gaurab has never before received a medical opinion because spiritual shamans told his parents not to go to doctors.
Appearing on TLC’s Body Bizarre, Ashish says: “The doctor advised us to take the baby to hospital within five days of the birth. Because of our poor finances, we couldn’t go.
“People said he was a form of God, and bestowed money.”
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Kalpena adds: “Some said an operation needs to be done, and he has to be taken to hospital so a proper check-up can be done. Who should we listen to? What should we do? We couldn’t decide.
“For treatment, we went to the shaman’s palace. They said not to remove the arm.
“If you remove it, it could be bad for you. They said God has given this to you so accept it and preserve it.”
Gaurab is a lively little boy, who hardly sits still and is completely unaware of his deformity.
His parents now feel differently about the growth, with Ashish saying: “If it is possible, we would like to get him operated on. There must be some solution.”
Seeking advice, the family make a 220km journey south to the capital of Kathmandu, and the Grande International Hospital, for scans.
There, orthopaedic surgeon Dr Chakra Raj Pandey tells the cameras: “The extra arm itself is not a problem. Inside the spine is the biggest worry for all of us.
“If that is not addressed, the child is going to develop some sort of neurological problems in the future, making him maybe, I will not say 100 per cent, wheelchair-bound.”
However, Gaurab’s spinal nerves could also be damaged in an operation to remove the third arm – possibly leaving him paralysed.
The narrator explains: “Neither option is risk free, and the choice is too difficult for G’s parents.
“So his grandmother is returning to the village, to discuss the options with the family elders.”
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