Karachi : Doctors at the National Institute of Child Health (NICH) have successfully operated on a baby boy born with six legs.

The operation which lasted more than two hours, ended successfully during which the doctors removed the extra limbs and the baby is now said to be in stable condition.

The baby, who was born in Sukkur, was brought to Karachi on Monday for treatment. The infant was born to the wife of an X-ray technician a week ago, Jamal Raza, the director of the NICH in Karachi told reporters.

“It is not one baby actually. They are two, one of them is premature,” he said. A doctor at the institute who did not wish to be named said the extra limbs were the result of a genetic disease which would affect only one in a million or more babies.

“The doctors are examining the infant to plan for necessary treatment to save the baby’s life and ensure he lives a normal life,” said a statement from the provincial health department.

Imran Shaikh, the baby’s father who lives in Sukkur, said he was grateful his son was being treated. “We are a poor family. I am thankful to the government for helping us treating my baby,” he told the media. Imran Sheikh also asked the people of the country to pray for complete and early recovery of his son from the disease.

Prominent gynecologist and President Pakistan Medical Association Dr Samrina Hashmi said the abnormality in the baby could be because of several factors, including improper medicines taken by the pregnant mother and contaminated water.

“In every 10,000 child births one baby is born with an abnormality such as a hole in the heart,” she said. “Then there is a possibility that several eggs were fertilised instead of one,” she said.