Chinese baby stable after doctors remove third arm

BEIJING, June 6 (Reuters) Doctors successfully removed a third arm from a two-month-old Chinese boy today and said he should make a full recovery, state media said.

''Thank you to everyone who has shown concern for us,'' the baby's mother was quoted as saying on state television after the three-hour surgery.

Little Jie-jie was born with two left arms. Both were well-developed, but neither was fully functional. Surgeons at the Shanghai hospital faced the quandary of which one to remove.

In the end, they severed the arm closest to his chest. Doctors said they hoped that with time the remaining arm would function normally.

REUTERS DKS ND1748