Polymelia Associated With Lipomyelomeningocele: A Case Report

Abstract

Polymelia is a congenital defect involving limbs, in which the affected individual has more than the usual number of limbs. The supernumerary limb can be either shrunken or deformed and can be attached to various regions of the body. Supernumerary limb attached to a lipomyelomeningocele is very rarely reported and we report a case of 4 months old male baby born to parents of non-consanguineous marriage presented with supernumerary lower limb of length 9cm attached to lipomyelomeningocele at the lumbosacral region of size 18x13cm. Surgery was performed with untethering of the spinal cord, debulking of the lipoma and excision of the supernumerary limb. On histopathological examination lipomatous tissue was confirmed and on meticulous dissection of the supernumerary limb, it had bone exposed at one end and the other end had two digits of length 1.4 and 1cm. The limb had features of sole with partially developed plantar aponeurosis, muscles and blood vessels. Thigh and leg were not fully formed. These malformations can have multifactorial etiology and antenatal diagnosis can be done by ultrasonogram. Early surgical management can prevent neurological complications.