Girl wakes after removal of limbs

A TWO-YEAR-OLD Indian girl born with four arms and four legs regained consciousness yesterday, wiggled her toes and smiled at her parents, 48 hours after massive surgery removed the extra limbs, doctors said.

Lakshmi, who has been revered by some in her village as a reincarnation of the four-armed Hindu goddess she was named for, was still in intensive care yesterday.

Doctors took her off a respirator but were still monitoring her closely during the critical 72-hour period following the operation. She was allowed to spend some time with her parents and seemed confused by her ordeal, chief surgeon Sharan Patil said.