Twin born with fetus in fetu, a rare congenital anomaly
A woman in Israel gave birth to a baby who had the embryo of her twin still in her abdomen. The condition, referred to as fetus in fetu (FIF) is a rare congenital anomaly in which malformed and parasitic fetus is in the body of its twin. The anomaly was first described in the 19th century by Meckel. Despite its prevalence among infants and children, there have been cases where the anomaly remained asymptomatic until later ages. Since its first definition, the rare anomaly was reported around 100 times in the 19th century.
According to “The Times of Israel”, doctors first realised that there was a problem with the fetus when they performed a late pregnancy ultrasound on the baby’s mother. Findings of the ultrasound showed that the baby’s stomach was enlarged.
After the baby was born, doctors performed several tests, including an ultrasound and X-rays which revealed a partially developed fetus inside the baby’s abdomen.
The doctors performed an operation on the baby to remove the fetus. While it is not exactly clear what causes fetus in fetu, the parastitic twins commonly form during an identical twin pregnancy. And one of the fetuses is absorbed by the other in early pregnancy.
“It happens as part of the fetal development process when there are cavities that close during development and one of the embryos enters such a space,” Dr. Omer Globus, director of neonatology at Assuta Medical Center in Ashdod, Israel, where the baby was born, told The Times of Israel. “The fetus inside partially develops but does not live and remains there.”
Another theory states that fetus in fetu is a kind of teratoma, a type of tumour found in an early-stage human embryo. According to researchers, a teratoma can be distinguished from fetus in fetu with the presence of a spinal cord.
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Source: The Times of Israel
