Shanghai: Doctors successfully removed a third arm from a two-month-old Chinese boy on Tuesday and said he should make a full recovery, state media said.
"Thank you to everyone who has shown concern for us," the baby's mother was quoted as saying on state television after the three-hour surgery.
Little Jie-jie was born with two left arms. Both were well-developed, but neither was fully functional.
Surgeons at the Shanghai hospital faced the quandary of which one to remove. In the end, they severed the arm closest to his chest.
Doctors said they hoped that with time the remaining arm would function normally.
"His case is quite peculiar. We have no record of any child with such a complete third arm," said head of the orthopedics department at Shanghai Children's Medical Center, Dr Chen Bochang.
The boy was born with just one kidney and may have problems that could lead to curvature of the spine, local media reports said.
Jie-jie cried when either of his left arms was touched, but smiled and responded normally to other stimuli, the reports said.
Chen's hospital is one of China's most experienced in dealing with unusual birth defects, including separating conjoined twins.
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