Rare Fetus in Fetu: Indian baby boy born pregnant with his twin

Mumbai: A rare case of fetus in fetu has been reported Mumbai. Doctors at Mumbra's Bilal Hospital came across a rare abnormality during a routine scan of the mother in Early July. According to radiologist Dr Bhavna Thorat, the abnormality was inside a fetal sac of the newborn and there appeared to be another small baby' inside the newborn's abdomen. Their doubt was confirmed when baby was born after 9 days , it was indeed a rare case of Fetus in Fetu twin pregnancy.

Fetus in foetu is a developmental abnormality in which a mass of tissue resembling a fetus forms inside the body of a living newborn.The case of foetus in foetu twin pregnancy is an extremely rare condition and has only been recorded 200 times all over the world so far. The baby in whom the twin grows is referred to as the "host baby", and the other is called the "parasitic twin. An early example of the phenomenon was described in 1808 by George William Young.

There are two theories of origin concerning "fetus in fetu". One theory is that the mass begins as a normal fetus but becomes enveloped inside its twin.The other theory is that the mass is a highly developed teratoma. "Fetus in fetu" is estimated to occur in 1 in 500,000 live births.

In the past few years, twins born joined to each other have been reported from across the world and such cases require complex surgeries to separate the two conjoined twins . But in rare cases, the other twin fails to develop fully and is often born protruding from the baby's body. In such cases it could lead to death of the infant as both the baby and the underdeveloped twin get nutrition from the same cord.

In the present case ,a 19-year-old mother gave birth to the baby on July 20 at Bilal Hospital which was taken to Titan Hospital in Thane for a surgery on July 24 . The doctors there, surgically removed underdeveloped twin, a seven centimetre long mass weighing 150 gm having a brain, arms and legs .

Gynecologist Dr Neena Nichlani told Indian Express, "It is a case of monozygotic twin pregnancy sharing single placenta, where one foetus wraps itself around and envelops the other and robs the host of its nutrition. It can be implanted in skull, abdomen or tail bone of the host. Sometimes it can also lead to the death of the host because both get nutrition from a single cord."

"The baby is now doing extremely well, and the mother will begin feeding him soon," Dr Nichlani added.