Mum in China seeking help to save baby born with tail

A mother in China is urging doctors to help her seven-month-old son, who has a three-inch tail sticking out of his back.

The baby, Xiao Wei, was born with spina bifida, which means his vertebrae didn't form properly, the New York Daily News reported.

It is a disorder in which the spinal column is not fully closed and his spine is still growing.

Wei has a variant of the condition called myelomeningocele, in which the spinal cord protrudes, forming a sac that contains the spinal matter.

Mother Chen Wei, from China's Guangdong province, told the publication that surgeons have told her that they cannot simply remove the growth.

Surgeon Huang Chanping said that the growth is quite well developed and now measures some 10 centimeters.

Chanping said that if they cut it off, it will simply grow again and so they need to repair the spinal canal first to stop it reoccurring.