Muhammad Jamal wrote
Thursday, March 09, 2023 10:18 PM
Doctors were able to surgically remove a twin fetus from the skull of his one-year-old sister in China, in a medical anomaly that was recorded only a few times, according to the “Daily Mail.” Doctors said that the fetus developed upper limbs, bones and even nails, which means that it is likely that He continued to grow for months while he was inside his sister’s womb.
The fetus, which was about four inches long, was only discovered when the parents took their daughter for check-ups at the hospital because she was suffering from an enlarged head and problems with motor skills.
The rare condition is known as “fetus-in-fetus,” a medical term that describes a birth defect in which twins fuse together in the womb and one develops physically inside the other.
Only about 200 cases have been documented, of which 18 occurred inside the skull. The presence of a fetus inside a fetus was also discovered in the pelvis, mouth, intestines and even the scrotum.
This condition occurs due to the incomplete separation of identical twins, which are formed when one egg is divided. Doctors don’t know exactly how this happens, and some have hypothesized that a healthy twin connects to the mother via the placenta, while the other attaches to the twin’s blood vessels.
As the older twin grows, the younger one is sucked into the abdomen, and other scientists have suggested that this happens as a result of delayed cell division. A nonviable fetus may continue to develop for weeks and months inside its sibling, even forming organs, bones and limbs.
In fact, this rare case was revealed in December in the Journal of Neurology of the American Academy of Neurology.
The unnamed child was taken to hospital after developing problems with her motor skills. Doctors have not shared any other details about her condition, but this may include problems walking or sitting.
CT scans revealed that the parasitic twin had put pressure on his sister’s brain, and that she was also suffering from hydrocephalus, a buildup of fluid deep in the brain that can cause an enlarged head, extreme drowsiness and seizures.
Although the parasitic twin, a few centimeters in size and made up of vital cells, continued to survive a year after birth because it shared a blood supply with its sister, the deformed fetus could in no way survive outside of it. The host twin because he has no brain or heart.