In India, a four-year-old boy was born with a developed fetus inside his abdomen due to a condition called “fetus in fetu.” The condition is so rare that it affects less than 1 in 500,000 births. In fact, the Daily Mail reports that there are only 200 reports of it ever happening. In 80% of fetus in fetu cases, the fetus is found in the abdomen, but there have been reports of it occurring in the skull.
Initially, Indian doctors believed the little boy had a tumor but were stunned when they found a fetus after performing an ultrasound and CT scan of his abdomen.
The doctor who performed surgery on the boy, Shirshendu Giri, said the following about the fetus: “The dead embryo – which had hands, legs, nails and a partially formed head – was removed from the child’s body after a long operation. The boy is alright now still under close observation.”
The reason behind the abnormality is largely unknown but the World Health Organization classifies it as a type of cancer called mature teratoma. However, the Hong Kong Medical Journal also suggested that it could be linked to a mother having multiple abortions. Researchers wrote “the theory of demised multiple pregnancy has gained much support recently. More evidence is needed to confirm either theory. The widespread use of antenatal ultrasound in early gestation may provide more concrete evidence … and shed light on this intriguing condition.”
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As LifeNews previously reported, in November 2010, a baby girl was born “pregnant” with twins growing inside her in Hong Kong. The deceased unborn babies were between eight and ten weeks gestation, had legs, arms, a spine, rib cage, primitive brain tissue and intestines. According to the Mirror Online, both were covered in skin; and one weighed half an ounce and the other a third of an ounce – and each had an umbilical cord.
The doctors first discovered the rare phenomenon in the baby girl during an ultrasound of the mother. Then, after the girl was born, tests determined the infant had the rare condition fetus-in-fetu. The infant underwent surgery three weeks after her birth to remove the fetuses.
The latest issue of the Hong Kong Medical Journal details the rare medical occurrence and Dr. Yu Kai-man, a specialist in obstetrics and gyneacology, said he believes it is the first documented case in the city. He said, “It was almost impossible to detect during the prenatal check-up, as the embryo inside the baby was too small. Since it is impossible for the little girl to have conceived the pregnancy on her own, the fertilization of the twin fetuses, of course, belongs to her parents, which has gone to the wrong place.”
Then, in June 2015, a 92-year-old woman from Chile found out that she had a 50-year-old unborn child who had died internally.
