Man born with four legs hopes for amputation

A YOUNG man with FOUR legs appealed to doctors to amputate his two extra limbs

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Arun was born with two extra legs protruding from his lower spine

Arun Kumar, 22, was born with two extra legs growing from his lower back - one underdeveloped and the other permanently bent at the knee.

After living for 15 years without any kind of treatment, Arun, from Uttar Pradesh, India, appealed through social media for medical help to remove his extra legs.

One of the legs is underdeveloped but the other is permanently bent at the knee

A team of specialists at Fortis Hospital in Delhi responded to Arun’s plea for help and organised a series of tests to find out how the legs are attached and if he can be treated.

Arun said: “If I get an operation and doctors take off my two extra legs, then I can also live a normal life.

“I may be able to move and walk properly like others.

“When I go back to hospital, I will meet doctors. If they are willing to do an operation, then I’m ready."

Immediately after his birth his father-in-law rushed him to hospital for help

But after taking him to hospitals around the country the family decided to return home

Despite not being able to move his extra legs, Arun does have feeling in them and carrying the weight on his back is damaging his posture and ability to walk.

When Arun was born his parents took him to hospitals and sought treatment in cities across India.

Arun’s mother Kokila Devi said: “During childbirth he got stuck and didn’t come out without pain. And when he came out, all his limbs were the same size.

Back in their village the locals told the family to learn to live with Arun’s condition - so they did

“When my father-in-law saw Arun he took his bullock cart and took me to Farrukhabad.”

The doctors at Farrukhabad deemed Arun’s extra legs too risky to operate on - especially on such a young baby - and the family were sent home.

Despite Arun’s parents travelling all over the country for five years to get the help their first son needed, the family were forced to return to their village and learn to live with Arun’s condition.

It has been fifteen years since Arun sought treatment for his two extra legs

Arun’s father Ram Singh, said: “We went to Fatehgarh, then Delhi, also Jalandhar. The doctors said an operation couldn’t be performed.

“Then we got disheartened and came back to our village and everyone here said, it’s okay just live like this.”

After a successful social media appeal, Arun was contacted by specialists at Fortis Memorial Research Institute in Delhi for an assessment, and a series of scans and medical tests to see if he can have surgery.

Arun appealed on social media for help and was contacted by a consultant at Fortis Escorts Hospital in Delhi

But Arun’s parents do not want him to go ahead with treatment if it will put his life in danger

Orthopaedic surgeon Dr Hermant Sharma, who examined Arun, discovered he also has a second pelvis, and arranged a series of tests, including MRI and CT scans, x-rays and echocardiograms, to find out how the extra legs are connected and how they are affecting his body.

Although Arun is eager to go ahead with treatment as his extra legs cause him discomfort

He said: “Since he has four legs we will be keen to know where is the blood supply coming from, and where is it going into his legs, and also we need to find out has he got extra kidneys, extra urethras, extra bladder?"

A new series follows Arun as he journeys to Delhi for treatment and finds out whether he can undergo the surgery which will transform his life.