Sirenomelia in a Nigerian triplet: A case report

Abstract

Introduction. Sirenomelia, also known as mermaid syndrome, is a very rare fatal congenital abnormality in which the legs are fused together, giving them the appearance of a mermaid's tail. It is commonly associated with abnormal kidney development, genital and rectal abnormalities. A handful of cases have been reported in other parts of the world, however, no cases have previously been reported in a Nigerian neonate. To the best of our knowledge, we believe that this is the first case reported from West Africa and in a triplet. Case presentation. A 16-hour-old baby boy, the second of a set of Nigerian triplets, presented to our facility with fusion of the entire lower limbs, imperforate anus, indiscernible genital structures, single umbilical artery and a neural tube defect. His parents were from the Hausa ethnic group and not related. Conclusion: Sirenomelia has not been previously described in a set of triplets, and it is hoped that this report from West Africa will give information about the non-racial predilection of this condition. © 2011 Ugwu et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.