Baby boy born with 6 inch tail gets it surgically removed
The 11-month-old baby from China was nicknamed little monkey' by his family because of his tail'.
A baby boy, who was born with a 6 inch tail owing to a birth defect, has finally got it surgically removed. The 11-month-old baby from China was nicknamed ‘little monkey’ by his family because of his ‘tail’. Yang Yang – the name given to him by the local media – is said to have developed the tail in the womb due to a neural tube deformity, People’s China Daily reports.
The neural tube is a structure that the embryo grows during the first month of its life. This tube then forms the spine and nervous system of the embryo in the coming months. It is believed that this is the reason why Yang Yang’s spine didn’t develop properly. As he had holes in the vertebrae in his back, the membranes that protect the spinal cord poked through one of them and created a menigocele – a fleshy growth that resembles a tail. Yang Yang, was born to his mother via a C-section, in Yibin, a city in south-west China. Although his mother was shocked, she got used to the ‘tail’ and would just lift it when she needed to change his diapers. In fact, his grandmother even thought that his ‘tail’ might bring him good fortune when he grows up.
However several months later when Yang Yang began to go to the toilet more frequently and it was apparent to his mother that he did not have much strength when he kicked – his family became concerned. His ‘tail’ was finally removed during a successful surgery at the Southwest Hospital in the city of Chongging.
Doctors had warned that the child could face issues in his lower limbs if the family delayed the surgery any more. However, Yang Yang is not the only baby to have been born with a ‘tail’. A similar case was seen in India with 13-year-old Arshid Ali Khan being hailed as a god in Punjab because he was born with a 7 inch tail, according to the Daily Mail.
