Schoolgirl Born With Extra Arms On Her Torso To Have Them Removed

Veronica Cominguez, from Iligan City, was born with the extra limbs and an oblong-shaped growth attached to her stomach. The body parts belong to her parasitic twin, which failed to develop properly in her mother's womb.

The 14-year-old schoolgirl has seen the parasitic limbs grow with her, and she even takes time to clean them and trim the nails.

Veronica said the limbs are heavy and can inhibit her movement, and even leak.

She said: "When I was little, I thought it was just a foot. But as I grew up, it became bigger.

"It keeps swinging. My dress often gets wet."

Veronica's mother Flora said the family have a history of producing twins, and even though she had not had a proper visit to a doctor during her pregnancy, she was expecting twins and had even given them both names.

But the hopeful mother had not expected that one would be undeveloped and give her otherwise healthy daughter two parasitic limbs.

She said the discharge that comes out of Veronica's protrusions can sometimes contain blood.

She said: "The liquid that comes out of the opening smells bad, like human excretion."

But luckily for Veronica and her mother, Veronica's doctor at the Philippines Children's Medical Centre, Dr Beda Espineda, said the surgery was a simple procedure that would get rid of her unwanted limbs without much trouble.

He said: "Most of these cases can be removed because, usually, the body structures involved are not vital.

"Most of them are just attached to the skin or bones. For surgeons, it is easy to remove."

A spokesperson from the Barangay council of Kabacsanan said: "It has been arranged for Veronica to have an operation and we hope that she will live a normal, healthy life after this.

"Life has not been easy for her but she's a very sensible, clever and mature girl.

"She's a wonderful pupil. Everyone is very pleased for her that she can soon have an operation."

Veronica is now waiting to make the journey for her life-changing surgery in the coming weeks.