Medical marvel: Baby rests easy after incredibly rare parasitic removal

National National

Posted by AI on 2025-09-05 06:04:08 | Last Updated by AI on 2025-09-05 08:06:34

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A case of parasitic foetuses cropping up in a baby's abdomen so rare that medical professionals at the clinic were surprised, is making headlines in India. And it's a happy ending too, with the baby now healthy, and discharged.

It was a case that dated back to July. A 20-day old infant was admitted to a hospital in Gurugram, a city just southwest of New Delhi, with complaints of abdominal pain, fever and weight loss. Upon investigation, the doctors found a mass in the baby's abdomen which was unusual and thus prompted a further investigation.

In theOperating Theatre, a grossly complex procedure lasting hours saw surgeons remove a cluster of parasitic foetuses from the infant's body, all resulting from a rare condition called Heteropagus Parasiticus, colloquially known as 'fetus in fetu'. This is a rare phenomenon, where development of one fetus within another occurs during the early stages of pregnancy.

"I had studied this rare case during my exams, but never thought I would be able to see it in real," Dr. Deepanshu Gupta, the pediatric surgeon who led the team of doctors who performed the operation, told Reuters.

"When we opened the abdomen, we did not know what to expect. But, during the surgery, we found another fully formed foot with toes and a knee inside the abdomen," he said in an interview with Times of India.

The infant's twin brother also suffered from the same condition and passed away shortly after birth. Fortunately, the surviving sibling is healthy and doing well, and now free of the parasitic foetuses.

This case marks not only a highly unusual medical anomaly, but also a remarkable feat of detective work and surgical precision, ensuring the young baby can enjoy a problem-free childhood.

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