Sirenomelia

Sirenomelia, ( syn. Symmelie, Sympodie, or mermaid syndrome, sirenomelia English, sympodia, mermaid syndrome ) is a very rare congenital deformity in which the legs are grown together downstream from the basin.

The name of the syndrome derives from the Sirens: female mythological figures who are presented with fish tails since the Middle Ages.

From the Sirenomelia just one of 100,000 newborns are affected. The Würzburg pathologist August Förster (1822-1865) in 1865 has three variants of variable severity described. In milder cases, the legs are still created, but fused together; in severe cases the lower leg - or the entire legs - only rudimentary.

Almost always coexist other malformations of the arms and internal organs. The children are therefore rarely viable. 70 % of fetuses are stillborn, the other die shortly after birth. In the literature, only three sufferers are described with longer survival time of 450 cases: Tiffany Yorks ( born 1988, New Port Richey, Florida), Milagros Cerrón ( born in 2004, Lima, Peru) and Shiloh Pepin ( born in 1999, Maine, USA; died 2009). Of these three, only to Shiloh had not undergone surgery to separate their legs. Their life expectancy was actually only a few months, but after two successful kidney transplant, she attended the school and moved on with a wheelchair. In October 2009, Shiloh Pepin died of pneumonia.

The cause of sporadic malformation is unknown. In animals, similar changes with chemical teratogens could be caused.