What Is Mermaid Syndrome?

"Mermaid Syndrome" is a rare congenital malformation of the lower limbs. The patient is born with adhesions on the inner sides of his legs that look like a mermaid's tail. "Mermaid Syndrome" is about the same as a conjoined baby, but the death rate is much higher, because most babies are born without important organs such as the kidney.

Mermaid Syndrome

Mermaid Syndrome is an extremely rare congenital lower limb deformity. Only one out of 60,000 to 100,000 people can survive a few hours after birth. The cause is still a mystery, but medical experts believe it may be related to genetics. Because the blood circulation system does not develop normally in the uterus, their kidneys and other organs are not fully developed.

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Mermaid Syndrome

This condition is extremely rare, and babies born with mermaid syndrome have a probability of only 1 in 70,000, and generally do not live for hours.

Shaylow Pippin According to previous media reports, there are only two known survivors of "mermaid syndrome" in the world today. They are Tiffany Yorks, a Florida girl, and Milagros Salem, a Peruvian girl. Both of them have accepted it. "Split leg" surgery.

Pathological Analysis of Mermaid Syndrome

"Mermaid Syndrome (Sirenomelia)" is a common name for leg deformities, or mermaid body signs or tail degeneration syndrome. It is an extremely rare deformity with a male to female ratio of 27: 1. The cause of the malformation is the primary defect of the mesoderm and / or caudal germ in the mid- posterior axis. Due to the hypoplasia or defect of the middle caudal structure, early hypocotyl bud fusion (fibula side) was caused. This defect occurs during the embryonic stage (3rd trimester of pregnancy) and is often absent before allantoic development. There are often multiple malformations at the same time, or accompanied by other deformities, such as non-fistula urinary system defects account for 19%, reproductive system abnormalities account for 17%, lower limb deformities, lower spine defects account for 10% each.

Causes of Mermaid Syndrome

The exact cause of mermaid syndrome is still unknown, but genetic mutations and environmental factors are causes that cannot be ignored. Each person has 20,000 to 25,000 genes responsible for controlling body structure and chemical metabolism. Considering genetic factors, a problem with any of these genes can lead to congenital developmental defects. Environmental factors are also important for fetal development. If the mother suffers from improper medication, infection, drinking, smoking or long-term exposure to sound, light, electronic radiation, magnetic fields and other external physical factors during pregnancy, the risk of fetal developmental defects will increase to varying degrees. If genetic variation and adverse environmental factors occur at the same time, the risk of congenital disease is greater. Experts remind that premarital examinations and consultations before pregnancy can greatly reduce the possibility of fetal developmental abnormalities. Many congenital developmental defects can be diagnosed prenatally and even prenatally.

Typical case of mermaid syndrome

Patients with mermaid syndrome in Peru

Milagros Salem was born with adhesions on the inner sides of her legs that looked like a mermaid's tail. Her parents gave her the name, which means "miracle" in Spanish, and the situation of Milagros did indeed It's a miracle. Being described as a mermaid is by no means lucky for Xiaomi Lagross, her condition is medically known as "Mermaid Syndrome", and Xiaomi Lagross miraculously survives.

Photo comparison of legs of Peruvian girls before and after surgery Comparison of legs in Peru girls before and after surgery

According to doctors, "Mermaid Syndrome" is about as likely as a conjoined baby, but the mortality rate is much higher, because most babies are born with vital organs such as the kidney. The body above Milagros' waist is no different from a healthy baby, but the abdomen and legs below the waist are tightly connected to the heel, and the two little feet are spread out in a "V" shape. Doctors are optimistic that her two legs have their own blood supply systems, her leg bones are obvious, and they can move, as if wrapped in a bag, struggling to be free. In addition, her heart, lungs and kidneys were healthy. Milagros successfully underwent surgical separation and survived.

Sellen is by far the second successful operation in the world to correct this congenital disease. The first case was a 16-year-old American girl named Diffany Yokes. The doctor successfully performed corrective surgery. According to medical information, babies with this congenital disease are 1 in 70,000, and most will die within a few days after birth.

American patients with mermaid syndrome

One is Tiffany Yokes, a girl in Tampa, Florida. The other was Shailo Pippin, Maine. Her congenital legs were stuck together, and even more deadly, her bladder, uterus, large intestine, most kidneys and other organs were missing, which brought great challenges to her survival. Doctors had expected that she would only survive a few days at most, but the little girl kept fighting the disease and broke the doctor's prediction.

Pippin is indeed a strong and optimistic child. She lived miraculously on the tiny piece of kidney in her body. In order to extend her life as much as possible, her parents took her to various treatments. By the age of 8, she had undergone no less than 150 operations, including reconstruction of internal organs and two kidney transplants.

Chinese patients with mermaid syndrome

Three days after birth, China's first mermaid patient was sent to the intensive care unit of the Children's Hospital of Hunan Province. After entering the hospital, the medical staff was surprised to find that the flesh and blood stuck below his abdomen to the toes. At the toes, the 10 small toes are separated, the big and small toes are completely misaligned, and the entire lower body is like the legendary mermaid's inverted "V" tail fin. This disease is medically called "mermaid syndrome".

The first mermaid syndrome patient in China was a male child with polymorphism on chromosome 1, that is, the child had an increase in the long arm secondary marks on chromosome 1, which means that multiple congenital malformations in Haonan were caused, not chromosomal lesions. caused. Because some of the major congenital malformations in newborns are caused by chromosomal mutations, inspections show that the chromosomes are normal and genetic factors can be basically ruled out. It can be concluded that external factors such as environmental pollution are mainly responsible for susceptible genes during the development of his embryo. Variations or sudden opening of certain non-open genes cause their multiple malformations.

Zhu Yimin, director of the Hunan Provincial Children's Hospital, said in an interview with reporters that because the little guy has no anus, he can't eat until now, and also found that urination cannot be ruled out. Until now, he could only rely on peritoneal dialysis to maintain his life. "With the" mermaid syndrome ", it will be fatal if you don't receive the relevant surgical treatment in time. At present, there is no feasible experience to treat such patients, and we will work hard to create surgical opportunities for this small patient. But the first case of a mermaid syndrome boy born in Hunan, China, died in 2006, surviving a total of 38 days.