DOCTORS operating to remove a “tumour” from a baby boy were shocked to discover he had a parasitic twin complete with eyes and skin.
The three-month-old boy was admitted to hospital for an operation to remove what was thought to be a mass on his kidney after his parents noticed his tummy was swollen.
But when surgeons began the operation they found a 2lb parasitic twin feeding off the little boy.
The condition, called foetus in fetu, is caused by the incomplete separation of twins.
When the twins fail to separate in the womb one of the babies does not fully form and instead becomes part of the healthy twin.
There are thought to only be 200 recorded cases worldwide.
Parents Ranjubala and Satyendra Yadav from Bihar, India, noticed their baby had a sore and swollen stomach.
The couple took their baby to see a doctor who suggested it could have been a tumour and recommended they seek hospital treatment.
They visited Banaras Hindu University Medical College and Hospital in Uttar Pradesh, where medics found the twin and successfully removed it.
Dr SP Sharma, who operated on the baby, said: “The baby was wrongly diagnosed with a tumour.
A TWIN GROWING INSIDE A TWIN
Similar to a conjoined twin, in the case of a parasitic twin, one of the babies is not fully formed, and was never a viable foetus – meaning it would never have survived.
Parasitic twins occur when a twin embryo begins to develop in the womb.
The pair fail to fully separate and one embryo remains dominant, at the expense of its twin.
The underdeveloped twin is described as being “parasitic”, rather than conjoined, because it is incompletely formed and entirely dependent on the body of its twin.
“We were surprised and shocked to see a malformed foetus inside his stomach.
“We have successfully operated to remove the parasite twin out of his body.
“The baby is recovering well after the operation.
Parasitic twin growing INSIDE tot had stopped her eating and drinking and was crushing her organs
“He has been shifted to ICU. We hope to discharge him some time by the end of this week.”
Dad Satyendra, a farmer, said: “We were blessed with a baby four years after our marriage but we were always living in fear that the baby might not live long as his condition started worsening within days after birth.
“They [the doctors] have not only cured our baby and rid us of all our pains too.”
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