A two-year-old girl who has undergone an operation to remove four extra limbs has begun getting movement back in her hands and toes.

Lakshmi before surgeryDoctors have reacted with cautious optimism after Lakshmi's 24-hour marathon operation saying the next 72 hours are critical.

But the latest news will come as a huge boost to doctors and her family.

"Lakshmi has moved her toes and hands for the first time and opened her eyes briefly," Dr Sharan Patil, the head surgeon, said.


Dr Patil said doctors were slowly reducing the amount of sedatives, but she was still breathing on a respirator.

"She is progressing in the right direction," he said.

Lakshmi's father, who has not seen her since the surgery except on television, said: "I have been told that she has two hands and two legs.

"I am very happy and have total confidence in the doctors."


Success: Post-operation x-rayLakshmi, who has been revered by some in her village as the reincarnation of the four-armed Hindu goddess she was named after, was born joined at the pelvis to a "parasitic twin" that stopped developing in her mother's womb.

The surviving foetus absorbed the limbs, kidneys and other body parts of the undeveloped foetus.

On Wednesday, a team of more than 30 surgeons completed the £300,000 operation.

It involved removing the extra limbs, transplanting a kidney from the twin and reconstructing Lakshmi's pelvic area in the hope that she will be able to lead a normal life.