A baby in Tanzania was born with a rare condition known as sirenomelia, or ‘mermaid syndrome.’ The newborn, who weighed just over 4.5lbs, had its lower body fused together like a ‘mermaid,’ missing one arm, an anal opening, and having ambiguous genitalia. Unfortunately, the infant only lived for about five minutes.
Doctors described the condition as ‘incompatible’ with life due to the multiple defects in critical systems. Sirenomelia is almost always fatal, with only one percent of affected infants surviving longer than one week after birth. The exact cause of sirenomelia is unknown, but it is believed to be a result of tissues not properly developing or separating in the womb, leading to the fusion of lower extremities.
A similar case was that of Milagros Cerron, a Peruvian girl born in 2004 with sirenomelia. Despite only having one kidney, she survived past birth and thrived after her legs were separated as a baby. However, she tragically passed away in 2019 at the age of 15 while awaiting a kidney transplant.
This rare case was reported in the Journal of Medical Case Reports and highlights the challenges and complexities associated with sirenomelia.
Vocabulary List:
- sirenomelia (noun): A rare congenital condition where the legs are fused together resembling a mermaid tail.
- congenital (adjective): Present from birthoften referring to medical conditions or disorders.
- fatal (adjective): Resulting in death deadly or causing someone.s death.
- ambiguous (adjective): Open to more than one interpretation having no clear or definite meaning.
- transplant (noun): The act or process of transferring an organ or tissue from one body to anotheror from one part of a body to another.
- thrived (verb): Prospered or flourished grew or developed vigorously.
