Phuket’s ‘little mermaid’ putting on weight
PHUKET CITY: The Burmese infant born with ‘mermaid syndrome’ in Phuket last week is now nursing on her own and putting on weight, doctors say.
Doctors at Prince of Songkla University (PSU) Hospital in Haad Yai, where the child is in her ninth day of treatment, said little Nichapa is now in stable condition.
Last week doctors at the hospital performed emergency surgery to construct an artificial anus through Nichapa’s abdominal wall.
The anus is now working very well, although Nichapa still has some waste in her bloodstream and requires drugs to balance mineral and salt levels.
Keeping Nichapa alive is a major accomplishment for the staff at PSU, the top medical facility in the South.
The vast majority of infants born with mermaid syndrome die within a few days of birth.
— Atchaa Khamlo
