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The phenomenom was born in northern India, to the parents of factory worker Vinod Kumar and his wife Sushma three weeks ago. The baby, who is yet to be named, survived an extremely rare case, of two skulls being fused together to one. This means as the baby was shown, she had four eyes, two noses and two mouths. Most doctors have never seen a case like this, a child surviving this. “Since the heads are fused, separating them is not possible,” paediatrician D.K Gupta of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences told the Hindustan Times newspaper. To be thankful the baby is still living is an understatement, but the baby is breathing and eating normally with no complications. Although it is still early, doctors say that the baby girl should be o.k. to go on living life fully. India is no stranger to phenomenoms as this case comes just months after Indian doctors performed a rare to remove the extra limbs of a girl born with four arms and legs. Indian doctors are famous for preforming unlikely surgeries, like the case above, removing unwanted limbs. Kumar and his wives’ baby has attracted much attention from doctors wanted to do plastic surgery to recover a ‘normal’ face. But, the girl has found easy acceptance in Kumar’s large, extended family, who say they have no plans to consult doctors to check if the girl can receive treatment or corrective surgery. “The doctor said everything is normal when she was born. So where’s the need to get medical help?” said the child’s father. Although I think it is great that the child has found acceptance with her immediate family, I do not think the real world is going to be as accepting. As cruel as that may sound, I feel little kids are more critical, curious and are more open about asking questions about children who don’t fit the normal standard. By not fixing her face, I feel the child will feel out of place and secluded by her own peers. In my opinion, the parents should at least look into getting the surgery because although physically she may be fine, emotionally growing up with the disorder may be detremental. capt.cps.mvg33.060408194832.photo00.photo.default-512×360.jpg
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I never thought it was possible for a baby to be born with two faces and I think that this is an amazing story. Considering that the baby was born normally and there aren’t any problems with it right now, I don’t see why they would need to do surgery on it. Yes, it is going to be very difficult for the child to grow up around its peers and try to live a nomal life, but if you look at the baby you can tell that if they do plastic surgery, her face will still never be normal. There are also a lot of risks and complications in surgery and I don’t think that this baby should take the chance. This is an extremely rare situation and I think that the parents should play it out and let the child make the decision on its own when it is older if she wants surgery or not.
Comment byThis case is so interesting, I did even know this was possible that a baby could have two faces. I will be really interested to see what the baby looks like when she gets older maybe she’ll be respected as a sort of god and not as a deformity. I agree with Mike it should be her descicion when she gets older to get the surgery or not.
Comment byI did not know that is even possible! Funny part is that they do not let doctors come close to her because her family thinks that she is one of the Gods! I hope she gets an operation because life is not going to be easy for her like that. I do not want to be disrespecting or discriminating but I am just being real. Well written and a great topic.
Comment byIt is amazing that a kid was born with two faces. I never even knew that it was possible for a kid to be born that way without having any health problems. It is good that the child doesn’t have to undergo any surgery’s, however, the question still remains whether the child should get the surgery for reasons regarding her emotional health. Growing up will be very difficult for a child. Children in her class will not understand and will be scared of her as if she is a monster. Although when she gets older, people will be more accepting of her, she will never have a normal life. Here is a site I found about helping children handle school bullying:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/bullying/MH00126
In the website, it discusses the types of children who are more susceptible to bullying. These included children who:
Have a noticeable disability
Are socially isolated or lonely
Are insecure or unassertive among their peers
Aren’t athletic
Appear physically weaker than peers
Cry easily or get upset easily
Relate better to adults than to peers
This child could fall under a few if not many of these descriptions. Is it really worth putting a child through all of this pain? Or is it really worth putting a child through such an intense surgery? It is a tough question to ask and it will be interesting to find out what happens in years to come.
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