Don't get me wrong. I think what these Peruvian doctors have done for little Milagro "Beanfield" Cerron is terrific. I understand that going through life with sirenomelia, or "mermaid syndrome," isn't be as cool as it sounds, especially since I found out that all it means is that your legs that are fused together to the ankle, and not that you have the ability to swim really well or to breathe under water or talk to fish. When you take those superpowers out of the equation, sirenomelia sounds downright uncomfortable. For example, you'd have to hop all of the time. The bottom line is that I'm a believer in the old adage, "Two legs are better then one."

The problem is not that these doctors have successfully separated "Beanfield"'s legs. The problem is how they described her privates.

"...Her urinary tract, anus, and genitals end in the same opening, almost like a 'sewer.'"

Now, I'm no expert in child psychology, but calling an infant girl's privates a sewer in the international media strikes me as a bad choice, especially for one who's sworn to "above all else, do no harm." Once a girl gets something like that into her head, it doesn't matter how many legs she's got, she'll never be able to run from the crippling self-image issues.


Milagro "Beanfield" Cerron, above, is finally putting on her pants one leg at a time.

Analogcabin @ 9:37 AM
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