This “foetus within foetus” condition arises when a developmentally abnormal foetus is found inside the body of its twin, who is otherwise healthy. (Representative Image, Credits: Reuters)
In an instance of the extremely rare “foetus in fetu”, doctors in Israel found a baby born with her own twin inside her stomach.
In an instance of the extremely rare “foetus in fetu”, doctors in Israel found a baby born with her own twin inside her stomach. Doctors had already identified that there could be a problem with the baby, who was found to have an enlarged stomach during a late-pregnancy ultrasound. However, they did not find out that it was a case of a foetus within a foetus until after multiple tests were conducted on the newborn. According to the Times of Israel, the test, which included ultrasounds and X-rays, showed that the baby girl had a partially developed foetus inside her abdomen.
This “foetus within foetus” condition arises when a developmentally abnormal foetus is found inside the body of its twin, who is otherwise healthy. Live Science reported quoted a study stating that the condition occurs in about 1 in 500,000 births and is extremely rare. The underlying cause of the condition is not clear. However, researchers from Arizona State University believe that it could be a rare “parasitic twin” which forms when one of the foetuses absorbs the other early in the pregnancy.
In the case that popped up in Israel, doctors at the Assuta Medical Center in Ashdod conducted an operation, removing two similar sacs from the girl’s stomach. Omer Globus, director of neonatology at Assuta, said “it happens as part of the foetal development process when there are cavities that close during development and one of the embryos enters such a space.” He also pointed out that the remains taken out in operation were not of a fully formed embryo, as it only had bones and a heart. There is a chance that there was more than one embryo in the baby girl’s abdomen. “We think that there was more than one there, and we are still checking that,” Globus said.
The director also assured that the operation was successful and that both the mother and child were discharged from the hospital.
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