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Nine-month-old Milagros Cerron is carried by a doctor at
the hospital in Lima, on February 1,
2005. | |
A Peruvian baby dubbed the "Little Mermaid" because she was born with a
rare condition in which her legs are fused, will have surgery this month
to try to separate them, doctors said.
Nine-month-old Milagros Cerron -- her name means miracles in Spanish --
is one of only a handful of the estimated 1-in-60,000 to 100,000 people
born with sirenomelia, or mermaid syndrome, to have lived more than a few
hours, experts say.
For Luis Rubio, the doctor leading the Peruvian team that will cut her
legs apart in Lima on Feb. 24, the past year has been a crash course in tackling a condition
he had read about in textbooks but never expected to have to treat.
Doctors believe there may only be one other surviving "mermaid" --
16-year-old American Tiffany Yorks, whose legs were separated when she was
a few months old.
Experts say sirenomelia is about as rare as conjoined twins but is
nearly always fatal because most sufferers lack kidneys or have other
complications.
From the waist up, Milagros smiles and babbles like any healthy infant.
Below the waist, her stomach merges seamlessly into her legs, which are
joined all the way to her heels.
With her tiny feet splayed in a 'V', the impression of a mermaid's
forked tail is complete.
Milagros' father, Ricardo Cerron, 24, appealed for aid when she was
born on April 27, 2004, in the Andean town of Huancayo, around 200 miles
east of Lima.
"I thought it was something horrifying" he said, recalling his reaction
on seeing his daughter. "I was in total despair."
Milagros, who weighs 17 lbs (7.5 kg) and is 24 inches (60 cm) long, has
a rudimentary anus, urethra and genitalia all located together.
Doctors will insert three silicone bags filled with saline solution between her legs on Feb. 9
and gradually add liquid to stretch the skin to cover exposed wounds once
they are cut apart, centimeter by centimeter.
"I have faith it will all go well," said Milagros' mother, Sara Arauco,
19.
But Mutaz Habal, the doctor who began treating Tiffany Yorks when she
was one hour old and helped pioneer the separation technique, said it was
hugely risky.
(Reuters) |
近日，一名秘魯女嬰被人們戲稱為“小美人魚”，因為她一出生，雙腿就緊密連為一體，這種情況十分罕見。醫生說，這個月她將接受雙腿分離手術。
九個月大的米拉格羅絲·塞龍的名字在西班牙語中的意思是“奇跡”。專家們表示，她是世界上患有先天性“美人魚綜合癥”并存活下來的極少數幸運者之一。據估計，這種情況出現的概率約為六萬到十萬分之一。
對主治醫生路易斯·魯維奧來說，過去一年他就像上了一個速成班。從前他只在書本上看到過這種病例，但從未想到自己會親自治療這種病。2月24日，他領導的秘魯醫療小組將在首都利馬對“小美人魚”實施雙腿分離手術。
醫生們表示世上可能僅有另外一位“人魚小姐”存活至今，她就是16歲的美國女孩蒂凡尼·約克斯，她在幾個月大的時候接受了雙腿分離手術。
專家們表示，雙腿粘連癥和連體雙胞胎一樣罕見，這樣的嬰兒存活率極低，因為他們中很多人天生就沒有腎，或伴有其他并發癥。
如果只看腰部以上，米拉格羅絲和任何一個健康的寶寶一樣會笑、會牙牙學語。但從腰部以下，她的胃部和腿部直接連在一起，雙腿從腳后跟以上全部合為一體。
她的小腳丫呈V狀張開，活脫脫就是美人魚分叉狀的魚尾。
米拉格羅絲的父親里卡多·塞龍只有24歲，孩子出生后他（向有關方面）請求援助。2004年4月27日，小米拉格羅絲出生在位于利馬以東約200英里處的萬卡約市安第斯山鎮。
當回憶第一眼看到女兒時的反應時，他說：“我記得當時的一切令人驚懼。我完全絕望了。”
米拉格羅絲重17磅（7.5公斤），高24英寸（60厘米），她的肛門、尿道和外陰都未發育完全，全部擠在一起。
2月9日，醫生們將在她的雙腿中間放入三個充滿了鹽水的硅樹脂袋，然后逐漸增加液體，一厘米一厘米地拉伸（腿部）皮膚，以覆蓋肢體分離手術后暴露在外面的傷口。
“我堅信一切都會順利的。”米拉格羅絲的母親，19歲的薩拉·阿勞科說。
但是，曾治療過蒂凡尼·約克斯的穆塔茲·哈巴爾醫生表示，這種手術風險很大。他在蒂凡尼·約克斯生下來一小時后就開始對她進行治療，并開創了肢體分離技術的先河。
（中國日報網站譯） |
Updated: 2005-02-05 10:26