BANGALORE: In a medical miracle, an infant was born with a foetus inside his abdomen in a Kengeri hospital. In normal circumstances, the foetus would have been his twin — in medical parlance, it is called ‘foetus in fetu or baby within a baby’.

A team of doctors at

and Hospital recently operated upon the two-month-old infant and removed the foetus from his abdomen. “The foetus could have been a twin which did not develop during the pregnancy in the mother’s womb and descended into the child’s abdomen,” said Dr Keshav Murthy, assistant professor of paediatric surgery,

.

It is a rare occurrence, maybe one in 5 lakh pregnancies, Dr Murthy said. “This is a rare disorder of surgico-pathological curiosity, where an aborted foetus is found within its partner. An antenatal scan showed a mass in the lower abdomen; postnatal, it looked like a swelling. The child was born on Dec 30, 2011,” he said.

Radiological investigations revealed a large, well-defined cystic mass. A team comprising Dr Murthy, Dr Adarsh and two other doctors removed the foetus last month. “Cross-examination showed two limb-like structures at the upper end of the mass, and well-developed bone, cartilage, friable pale areas and cystic structures,” the doctor said.

Sahana SP, 20, the mother, said doctors at a private hospital in Kamakshipalya had first detected a fibroid-like substance on the tip of her kidneys. “I was told there was no threat to my child and the fibroid would be removed after delivery. I was admitted to Rajarajeshwari Hospital, where my son was born through Caesarean section.”