Sirenomelia Causes

Club foot, Hydrocephaly, Dwarnian ear, etc. are some of the rarest birth defects found in babies during birth time. These are known as congenital birth defects. One of the other rare congenital birth defect found in babies is Sirenomelia or the mermaid syndrome. The disease is named so as babies suffering from this disease have their lower extremities (legs) fused together, which looks similar to the physical structure of a mermaid.

Sirenomelia Disease

Most of the rare diseases or birth defects are fatal and cause deformity. Similarly, sirenomelia is a life-threatening disease and leads to deformity. It is so rare that only one among 100,000 cases of sirenomelia are found. It is also life-threatening because a number of complications relating to the kidneys and the bladder develop immediately as the child is born. There have been several cases of babies with mermaid syndrome to be still born. If not still born, these babies live for a couple of days or weeks. To date, all over the world, only 3 babies have survived this complications for a longer period of time.

As mentioned above, the condition is called so because the legs of the babies are fused together. Similarly, even when fused, the legs are not in their normal shape. They are broader at the top (at the waist) and taper down together. Babies suffering from sirenomelia also do not have bladder, the large intestine and genital organs. This makes their survival nearly impossible. One of the mermaid syndrome facts is that this condition is commonly found in case of twins than in case of individual births. Let us take a look at the possible causes for sirenomelia deformity.

What Causes Sirenomelia

The exact cause of this condition is unknown. Genetics is believed to be one of the major causes, but there have been no known exact condition that lead to this disease. The mother suffering from a severe or major illness during pregnancy, suffering from diabetes mellitus, etc. believed to be some of the possible mermaid syndrome causes. Lack of proper prenatal care is also believed to be one of the sirenomelia causes. As this condition is found in people belonging to different races and ethnic groups, one can infer that it is not limited to any specific locality and can be found all over the world. Scientists are yet to find other specific causes of sirenomelia.

The symptoms of this condition include poorly formed pelvic bones and bones of the leg. As the legs are fused, the skin covers the entire structure which looks as if the baby has a single leg right at the center. Internal as well as external genital organs are absent. The size of the colon is also shorter and the kidneys are deformed. Diagnosis of the condition is possible before the actual birth with the help of sonography and ultrasound techniques. Prognosis of the condition is very poor as nearly all the babies do not survive past a couple of days or month. It is found that even if their kidneys are repaired using surgical methods, they tend to deteriorate, leading to death.

Lastly, as a summation, we can say that the exact and precise causes of sirenomelia are still not known, which makes treatment and prevention difficult. Scientists may be successful in finding the causes in near future, which may then make eradication of the disease easier. Take care!