Seven-month-old Xiao Wei was born with spina bifida, a developmental congenital disorder in which the spinal column is not fully closed. Wei has a variant of the condition called myelomeningocele which causes the spinal cord to protrude and results in a sac filled with spinal matter which looks like a tail. The baby boy currently has a three-inch-long tail that’s still growing.
His mother Chen Wei, who lives in China’s Guangdong province, is urging doctors to help her. Surgeons have told the desperate mother that the growth couldn’t be removed surgically and according to surgeon Huang Chanping, “If we cut it off, it will simply grow again. We need to repair the spinal canal first to stop it [from] reoccurring.”
(Warning: The photo of the infant’s tail is shocking. Click continue at your own risk.)
