THIS two-year-old Nepalese boy has a third arm growing out of his back, a deformity which has left his parents with a heart-wrenching choice which could leave his paralysed.

The arm, which doesn’t move, is the remains of Gaurab Garum’s undeveloped twin and is growing from a split in the toddler’s spinal column.The split, known as spina bifida, affects around one in 1,500 babies – but the extra arm and hand is much rarer.

As it continues to grow it is starting to affect Gaurab’s sleep, and his mum Kalpena is worried her son soon won’t be able to fit into T-shirts.

Now Kalpena and husband Ashish face the impossible decision of whether or not to have the fifth limb removed – knowing that it could leave Gaurab paralysed.The family live in a deeply religious Hindu community in the Tanahun district, and Gaurab has never before received a medical opinion because spiritual shamans told his parents not to go to doctors.

Appearing on TLC’s Body Bizarre, Ashish says: “The doctor advised us to take the baby to hospital within five days of the birth. Because of our poor finances, we couldn’t go.

“People said he was a form of God, and bestowed money.”