In Gelsenkirchen three babies were born without complete hands. The same happened last in France. The doctors are a mystery.
In the Ruhr area the doctors of the Gelsenkirchen St. Mary’s Hospital are puzzled. Between June and September 2019, three children with malformations on their hands were born in the clinic. In two babies the left hand was not fully developed, in a third the right one. The palms and fingers are said to have been “rudimentary”, as the hospital has now announced in an official statement.
Gelsenkirchen: Conspicuous accumulation of malformations
Although malformations may occur again and again, the treating physicians would not have seen them for years. “Multiple occurrences may also be a random accumulation, but we find the short period in which we now see these three cases conspicuous, ” writes the clinic.
A connection between the parents of the children could not be determined so far. Their origin alone is similar: all families should come from the local environment.
Whether there are more cases is still unclear. An official reporting system for malformations does not currently exist. A midwife, who first reported the malformations to the Cologne Express, has confirmed other cases to the Bild newspaper. So far, 20 families with affected children reported to her. It is not clear where this came from and whether there is a connection to the malformations in Gelsenkirchen.
Malformations are reminiscent of cases in France
The attending physician in the Sankt-Marien-Hospital now wants to talk with pediatricians of the region. In addition, a team of experts from the Berlin Charité to help clear up the cases, as the WDR reported.