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Baby born with third leg to undergo surgery

Remains of undeveloped twin must be removed or 14-month-old faces paralysis

Playing happily beside her adoptive mother on a bed in a Beijing hospital, 14-month-old Qing Qing gurgles with delight and watches with shining eyes anyone who enters the room.

In two weeks she will undergo an operation to remove an extra leg growing from her back - a procedure surgeons say is as complicated as separating Siamese twins.

'It's not simply an extra leg,' said Bi Lianyong, a doctor at Dongzhimen Hospital where the operation will take place. 'It is her undeveloped twin that is now behaving like a parasite on her body.'

Qing Qing was found abandoned on the streets of Beijing in March by a policeman who later took her to a child welfare shelter. She was adopted by Wang Huie, a 36-year-old peasant farmer.

Although she was poor and already had a young son, Ms Wang said she could not leave the girl behind. 'I felt such pity for her. But more than that, she just looked so adorable,' she said. After adopting her, Ms Wang set about finding a hospital to treat her.

Although doctors do not know the baby's date of birth, bone marrow tests indicate she is now about 14-months old. As they have never had the chance to examine her natural mother, they have no idea what led to her condition.

Yu Xing, another surgeon on the expert panel treating the girl, said it was essential they remove the limb as soon as possible. 'The limb has started to deform her lower body and could paralyse her if she is not operated on soon,' he said.

The operation, scheduled for two weeks time, will be highly complicated, though doctors say they put the chances of a successful procedure at 80 per cent.

Dr Bi said that if it were just an extra leg, it would be like a standard amputation. 'But now it turns out we have to face an operation as difficult and complicated as separating Siamese twins.'

Doctors said they expect Qing Qing will take a long time to recover. 'The goal of the operation is to simply enable her to walk at some stage in the future,' Dr Yu said.

Ms Wang, struggling to survive along with her husband on a small patch of land on the outskirts of Beijing, could never afford to pay for the operation, which will cost about 100,000 yuan (HK$94,000). It will be paid for instead by the Dongzhimen Hospital authorities.

'Now all we can do is just wait and hope,' Ms Wong said.

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