It was a medical miracle: a two–month–old infant boy from Bangalore’s Kengeri was born with a foetus inside his abdomen. In normal circumstances, the foetus would have been his twin – in medical parlance, it is termed ‘Foetus in Fetu or Baby within a Baby’.

A team of doctors at Rajarajeshwari Nagar Medical College and Hospital recently operated on the infant and removed the foetus from his abdomen. “The foetus could actually 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, paediatric surgery.

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

Radiological investigations revealed a large, welldefined cystic mass with areas of calcifications within it, suggestive of a large teratoma arising from the pelvis. A team comprising Dr Murthy, Dr Adarsh and two other doctors removed the foetus surgically 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,” said the doctor.