New life for girl with three legs after op

A Bangladeshi toddler is getting ready to return home after undergoing surgery in Melbourne to remove her third leg.

Choity Khatun, 3, was born with a condition where part of a twin develops in a child's perineum, and was brought to Australia last July to undergo a complex operation.

Caudal twinning is a rare condition, with many children dying in the womb or shortly after birth.

Choity was initially treated at a children's hospital in Bangladesh, where she underwent an operation to ensure she wouldn't die of a bowel obstruction.

She underwent an eight-hour operation in Melbourne in November, with a medical team reconstructing much of her anatomy.

The little girl is now eating normally after having a colostomy bag removed, the ABC reported on Thursday night.

"She's now able to walk and run and go to the toilet, and this is going to make a big difference to her life back in Bangladesh," Monash Children's Hospital head of surgery and associate professor Chris Kimber said.

"She's a very bright and challenging young individual, and to watch her run because she doesn't have that mass in between her two legs is a real privilege."