Rare Case of Encephalocele reported: Baby girl born with three heads in UP

Uttar Pradesh: In a rare case, a baby girl born with three heads in Etah district of Uttar Pradesh (U.P) has lately hit the headlines. Experts have identified it as an encephalocele, a rare congenital type of Neural Tube Defect (NTD) where part of the skull has not formed properly.

According to media reports, the woman from Pilua village, U.P, who delivered this baby had no complications during her pregnancy. She was admitted to a nearby hospital after suffering from excruciating pain upon the build-up of her delivery. Doctors dropped in confusion when the women gave birth to a baby girl, with two large protrusions formed at the back of her skull.

"This is a very rare medical condition,” explained Rajesh Thakur, Chief Medical Superintendent, District Hospital, Etah told The Sun

The baby has been referred to District Hospital in Etah as the previous health center lacked advanced medical facilities. The doctors will conduct a Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRI) scan to determine the complexities and cause of this abnormality. After that, they would go for surgery to sperate the heads.

Baby with three heads (Credit: the un/Mediadrumimages/Newslions)

Two large protrusions formed at the back of the baby's skull (Credit: the Sun/Mediadrumimages/Newslions)

The birth defect though is rare but there are few similar cases of encephalocele have been reported. The occurrence is said to more in Africa.

Experts say that babies with encephalocele have 55 % chances of survival and the condition may lead to other complications which include life long mental illness in 75% of the survivors.

In an era where medical science become so advanced, this condition is also treatable. In India Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) doctors have successfully operated on an infant born with two heads. A similar surgery was performed by Bengaluru doctors where they removed protrusion around the head of an infant.

Read also: Craniopagus twins: British doctors separated skulls, brains and blood vessels of conjoined twins