Teen who spent his life worshipped as a 'monkey god' finally has tail removed

A teenage boy who had a tail growing above his
buttocks, a thing which caused him grief, has
finally had some respite. The lad was even being
worshipped as the incarnate of the Hindu monkey
god, Hanuman, in his village because of the
condition.

The 18 year old Indian teen has had a 7-inch tail
growing on his buttocks since he was just a little
child.
However, the young lad has finally had his tail
removed after

Neurosurgeons
successfully took away the seven inch growth –
the longest ‘human tail’ ever recorded.

The 18-year-old, who cannot be legally named,
was admitted to the government Super Specialty
Hospital, in Nagpur, India, on September 29.
Dr Pramod Giri, head of the neurosurgery
department, said: “The patient was born with this
congenital deformity.

“Though the family knew about this unusual
growth, they did not see a doctor due to the social
stigma and superstition attached to it.

“His family and neighbours thought he was an
incarnation of Monkey God Hanuman, so they
never looked at it as a disease.
“It was only the boy grew up and started facing
problems, they got to know that this is a
deformity.”

Dr Giri continued: “Generally, the defect is detected
very early as it is present from birth and since it
grows with age it cannot remain undetected.
“But the parents as well as the child hid the fact all
these years.

“The defect can be surgically corrected within few
months of birth. Ideally, the growth should have
been removed within five years of age.”
Human tails can affect bladder functioning and the
lower limbs and legs, and the teenager was not
able to sleep or sit properly.
Dr Divik Mittal, assistant professor at medical
college and hospital, said: “As the size of the tail
grew over the years, a bone developed inside it
that began to press on the boy’s back.”

A team of six doctors, headed by Dr Giri, operated
on the boy in an hour long surgery on Monday.
The teenager, who will be discharged later this
week, has spoken of his delight after the surgery.
He said: “I feel liberated now as I am not a
Monkey God anymore. Now, there won’t be any
queue of superstitious people in front of my house.

“I hated being called or likened with the gods
anyway.”
According to the Indian Association of Pediatric
Surgeons, there have been six such cases in the
country.