22-year-old Arun Kumar was born with four legs. His mother recalled that all four limbs had been the same size during birth, and that Kumar had gotten stuck while she was in labor.
Immediately after Kumar’s grandfather discovered that his grandson had been born with extra limbs, he took the entire family into the city to see a doctor who could determine if the legs could be removed.
Unfortunately, at the hospital, the doctors said Kumar was too young to go through such a risky procedure. There was no way of determining how the extra legs were attached to Kumar’s body, and if their removal would cause the young boy to bleed to death.
For the past 22 years, Kumar has learned to live with his legs, both of which now dangle from his lower back. One isn’t completely formed; the other is permanently bent at the knee.
Although he’s become accustomed to living with these extra legs, Kumar is desperate to get them removed so he has a chance to “live a normal life.”
“I may be able to move and walk properly like others. If they are willing to do an operation, then I’m ready,” he said.
Kumar turned to social media to raise awareness of his plight – and doctors responded to his call.
Specialists at Fortis Hospital in Delhi have contacted Kumar and arranged for him to undergo tests, so they can best determine how his legs are attached to his body, and how they can best be surgically removed without compromising his health.
So far, Dr. Hermant Sharma, an orthopedic surgeon, has discovered that Kumar has a second pelvis and is now trying to figure how if Kumar also has “extra kidneys, extra urethras, [and] extra bladders.”
You can watch a news feature of him and his family here:
