Eight-limbed Indian girl has successful surgery

BANGALORE, India, Nov 7 (Reuters) - Doctors in India have successfully operated on a 2-year-old girl born with four arms, four legs and extra internal organs, doctors said on Wednesday.

A team of around 30 medics removed what amounted to Lakshmi Tatma's headless identical twin sister who was joined at the pelvis and who did not develop and separate properly in the womb -- an extremely rare case.

"It went very well," said Mamta Patil, a doctor involved in the surgery at Sparsh Hospital in Bangalore in south India. "She'll be in intensive care for the next 48 hours."

The risky operation began on Tuesday. Lakshmi, named after the four-armed Hindu goddess of wealth, was expected to be in the operating theatre for 40 hours, but the surgery was over after 27.

But doctors said the surgery was worth the risk, saying that Lakshmi, who could not walk on her deformed limbs, would not otherwise have much chance of living past adolescence.

"We have been told that she can lead a normal life after the operation. I am just praying for her," Poonam, Lakshmi's mother, told reporters.

Lakshmi's parents are poor labourers from Bihar state in northern India. They told newspapers that they had refused offers from circus owners to buy their daughter.

Besides the removal of the extra limbs, Lakshmi's deformed pelvis and spine were corrected, and redundant extra organs removed, doctors said.

The hospital said it is covering the cost of the surgery. (Editing by Jonathan Allen)