Guide Note

Mermaid syndrome is a rare birth defect in which an infant's legs are fused together. The syndrome is related to fatal complications causing infants to die within several days of birth. Common complications include absence of kidneys or urinary tract, heart deformities and severe organ complications.^{1 2}

Fast Facts²

1. Also called: sirenomelia
2. One out of every 70,000 births
3. Over 300 reported live births
4. Usually fatal

There are two known survivors of mermaid syndrome. The oldest survivor is Tiffany Yorks. She is an American, born in the late 1980s. She was born without a bladder She had five surgeries and had her legs surgically separated before she was a year old. Throughout her youth she had many surgeries.³

Milagros Cerron is the second long-term survivor of mermaid syndrome. She was born in Peru in 2004. She was born with one kidney and her digestive tract and genitals were a single tube. Her name, Milagros, means miracle in Spanish. She was born to a poor family and the Lima government paid for her medical care. At the age of two she began to walk on her own.^{1 4}

Disclaimer

The content in this page is not a substitute for professional medical advice. If you think your child suffers from mermaid syndrome, please consult your doctor.