Formerly 8-armed little girl wakes up, wonders where her extra limbs went.

BANGALORE, India, Nov. 12, 2007 — -- After the marathon 27-hour surgery to remove extra limbs from little Lakshmi Tatma's body, her progress is now being measured in small but significant increments: Saturday, she came off the ventilator; she drank some milk; she wiggled her toes. Sunday, she ate three pieces of bread. These steps of progress indicate that the 2-year-old is recovering very well. But perhaps the most significant indication is that Lakshmi appears to understand what has happened to her.

"Maybe it's my imagination, but I can see her. … She just gives one stare down her limbs and I can see she is saying, 'Where have they gone?'" said Sharan Patil, chief orthopedic surgeon and chairman of Sparsh Hospital, where the surgery was performed.

Patil led the team of 30 surgeons who separated what was essentially a headless parasitic twin joined at the girl's pelvis. Parasitic twins differ from conjoined twins because they are not fully formed and they depend upon the twin on the body functions of the complete fetus.

During the surgery, the spine was cut to remove the extra limbs and the wide gap between the pelvic bones was closed using bone grafts. The closed gap was a significant accomplishment for the surgeons, who had thought they may have to close it over the course of several surgeries.

"She responds extremely well to her parents walking into the ICU. Anybody calls her name, she quickly turns around, which is heartening to see," he said. "She's moving her toes, moving her hands freely."

Lakshmi is stabilized, but the biggest concern right now is infection due to the enormous wounds from her surgery. Doctors hope that she will leave the intensive care unit today.

Outside the hospital, which is surrounded by palm trees, satellite trucks and local media fill the red dirt driveway, awaiting news on the little girl who has captured worldwide attention. Inside, Lakshmi's parents spent about three hours with her Sunday morning. Lakshmi has months of rehabilitation ahead of her, including potential surgery to fix her club feet, as well as an additional surgery due to the repositioning of her organs. But doctors do not expect to do these surgeries soon.