Lakshmi - the eight limbed girl child

About Lakshmi……
Two-year old Lakshmi - named after the Hindu goddess she somewhat resembles with her four arms and four legs - comes from a small village in the district of Araria, located on the border of Nepal, in Bihar.

Lakshmi is an Ischiopagus conjoined twin. Ischio stands for pelvic bone and pagus means fused. Therefore, Lakshmi is actually two bodies united at the pelvis. Only one of the twins has a head and the other is a parasite. Two pairs of arms and legs have formed at either end of the two adjoining torsos, creating a child with 8 limbs. The incidence of conjoined twins is 1 in 50,000 Lakshmi's kind of twin forms only 3% of all types of conjoined babies.

Poonam gave birth to Lakshmi in her mother's home village without any form of medical supervision, and neither did she receive any antenatal care during her pregnancy. When Lakshmi was born, it invoked tremendous curiosity in the village. Hordes of people started turning up from the neighboring areas to see the incredible Lakshmi.

Lakshmi comes from a very impoverished background. Since Lakshmi's birth, her parents, Shambu and Poonam, have faced innumerable ordeals - socially, medically and mentally - in trying to raise her. She is the younger of the two siblings - her brother Mithilesh is 6 years old.

Lakshmi at Sparsh…….
She was admitted to Sparsh Hospital at the beginning of October 2007 - the first time that she and her family have traveled so far away from home. On arrival, immediate tests revealed that she was extremely mal-nourished, and had hemoglobin of 5.4 gram percent as opposed to 12 gram percent in normal children. She was suffering from an infected pressure sore on the dorsum of the parasitic twin measuring almost 6 inches in diameter - causing her to run a constant fever. She also had a parasitic helminthic infestation of her bowels.

It became imperative to improve Lakshmi's nutritional status and general well being which was done by de-worming her and putting her on a high-protein calorie diet. Simultaneously, a battery of blood and urine investigations were carried out including ultrasound tests, whole-body MRI scans and a 64 slice CT scan. All the data from the tests has been thoroughly examined and discussed.

Now with an improved nutritional status and an increased hemoglobin of 11 gram percent, surgery has been scheduled to begin at 0700 hrs on November 6th 2007. The operation is expected to go on day and night, and likely to take up to 40 hours to complete. The medical team, supported by paramedical staff, will number a total of approximately 36 members.

The Sparsh team……..
Keeping the complexity of Lakshmi's case in mind, Dr Sharan Patil put together a team of highly skilled doctors from the specialties required to operate on Lakshmi, often in tandem. They are as follows:

• Pediatric Surgery:This will be led by Dr Ashley D'Cruz along with Dr Sanjay Rao & Dr Deepti.


• Neurosurgery: Dr Thimappa Hegde will be supported by Dr Praveen and Dr Bopanna.


• Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery: Dr Ashok Raj Koul and assisted by Dr Prashant.


• Anesthesia & Intensive Care: Led by Dr Yohannan John and supported by Dr Asha Kiran, Dr Sharanu Patil and Dr Ravi.


• Orthopedic Surgery: Headed by Dr Sharan Patil supported by Dr Gowri Shankar and Dr Chandrashekar.

A little about Sparsh Hospital………The Touch of Life
Sparsh Hospital was established in April 2006. The motto was to bring quality health care to the masses. In time, it is planned to become a 450-bed institution,making it the largest hospital of its kind in the country, dedicated for Accidents, Orthopedics, and Plastic surgery.

Sparsh is a superspecialised hospital focusing on various sub-specialties such as joint replacement surgery, pediatric orthopedic surgery, sports medicine, trauma surgery and rehabilitation. It is an integral part of the Narayana Health City. At present, other hospitals in the campus are Narayana Hrudayalaya and Narayana Nethralaya.

Charity at Sparsh…….
Sparsh Foundation is the charitable wing of Sparsh Hospital, and has launched many innovative programmes in its short duration of its existence.

• Resuscitation by Right: For trauma victims irrespective of their affordability or identity.


• Highway trauma centre for resuscitation: Government-Sparsh Trauma Centre at Hosur.


• Sparsh Neighborhood Care Scheme: Sparsh cares for its neighborhood and offers medical treatment at discounted rates to people living within a radius of 25 kilometers.


• Joint replacement surgery: Special packages have been devised for the under-privileged and are being offered at cost price - without any professional fee or ward charges being levied.


• Smile Train: Patients with cleft lips and cleft palates are operated at no charge.


• Out reach programmes such as Arthritis camps in villages; Yeshasvini Camps and Camps for the physically challenged are conducted at least once a month.