A 15-month-old baby found to be carrying her sibling inside her stomach as scans revealed.
Doctors discovered a seven-pound mass of flesh, bone and hair inside of the toddler – a parasitic unborn fetus that was feeding off of her. The condition, called “fetus in fetu,” is extremely rare and has only seen 200 reported cases worldwide in history.
It was made after the Indian girl’s parents rushed her to the hospital when they suspected she might have a tumor.
“She always had a slightly larger than normal stomach but we ignored it until she stared crying endlessly and began having issues breathing and having food,” her mother, 28-year-old Sumathi, said. “We had never gone for scans before or during her birth.”
A toddler whose stomach was so bloated she could not eat or drink was found to be carrying her unborn twin.
Their daughter had reportedly been crying for weeks and was unable to eat anything. She was taken to a hospital in Tamil Nadu, where doctors at first thought she had a cyst.
“I first believed she had a cyst or [tumor] till the ultrasound and scan showed that there were bony areas, calcified region and a teratoma-like structure ([a tumor] containing tissues and organs),” pediatric surgeon Dr. Vijayagiri told the Daily Mail.
“That was when I suspected that it was a [fetus]-in-fetu and quickly looked up some literature. It was only when I removed the structure, could I confirm that it was definitely a [fetus].”
During surgery, doctors discovered that the girl’s left kidney was attached to the fetus.
“Other organs like the pancreas, a portion of the spleen and left side of the colon were attached to the [fetus] and the blood vessels were splayed around the structure,” Vijayagiri said. “So we had to remove and detach the blood vessels and move the organs away from the [fetus] without injuring them.”
The girl, who weighed 18 pounds before the removal of the fetus, was reported in good condition following the procedure.
“I am thankful to doctors for removing the [fetus] and giving her a new life,” her mother said.
The shocking story quickly went viral after it was first reported.
“Amazing info,” one Newsiosity reader commented on the site’s Facebook page.
“Makes you wonder if all of the manufacturing chemicals from the companies that moved there are causing. More children are born with terrible birth defects in India than anywhere else in the world. Prayers go out to the little one for a quick recovery,” another Daily Mail reader wrote.
“Lucky girl that it was removed in time, stay well princess!” another added.
Sources:
- www.americanow.com
- www.dailymail.co.uk
- www.newsiosity.com
- www.facebook.com