Rubio said that like many poor people in Peru's Andes, Milagros' parents young, humble and devoutly religious people at first saw her deformity as a punishment from God and had to be convinced that a medical solution existed.

At the end of the 4 1/2 hour operation, Rubio held up the girl's legs in a V-shape for the cameras, displaying the line of stitches extending up from her heels to her inner thighs, and declared the surgery "a true success."

Milagros Cerron was alert and tranquil while Dr. Luis Rubio flexed her toes and spoke to her softly.