Muktamoni dies after battle with rare disease

Muktamoni, a 12-year-old girl from Satkhira, died after battling a rare disease called hemangioma, report agencies.

Ibrahim Hossain, father of 12-year-old Muktamoni, said she breathed her last at around 8.0 am at her home in Kamarbaisa village in Satkhira.

"The condition of Muktamoni started deteriorating on Tuesday. Later, we informed coordinator of Burn and Plastic Surgery Unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital Dr Samanta Lal Sen about her condition over phone and he sent a medical team here," Ibrahim said.

The medical team comprising of Dr Farhad Jamil and Dr Hafizullah visited Muktamoni and prescribed some medicines, he added.

"We took Muktamonito home on December 23 and since then she remained here," said Ibrahim.

Muktamoni drew the nation's attention with an abnormally large right arm.

Muktamoni was buried beside the grave of her grandfather at her family graveyard after Zohr prayers following a namaz-e-janaza there, said her father.

Earlier on Saturday, her father said that Muktamoni's condition had been critical for the last few days as her right hand was decomposed completely.

"The infection in her hand has spread all over. Bad odour comes out from her hand when the bandage is pulled off for dressing," he said.

Muktamoni was under the observation of Dr Samanta Lal Sen.

She had been diagnosed with tumour in blood vessels and underwent treatment at the burn unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital from July 11 to December 22, last year.

On August 12, doctors at DMCH removed a three-kilogramme tumour from her arm after a biopsy showed the tumour in the artery of her hand.

The girl later underwent three more consecutive surgeries on her right arm on August 29, September 05, and October 08, last year.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina took charges of her treatment after her story was reported in the media.

Muktamoni's parents noticed a tiny red bump on her right arm when she was one and a half years old. For the next four years, the bump grew so much that it began hampering her movement, said her father.