Man ‘Pregnant’ With His Twin For 21 Years, Discovery Stuns Medics

Doctors at AIIMS have removed a foetus from a 21-year-old man in Odisha.

Doctors at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Odisha have removed a foetus from a 21-year-old man’s body. (Photo: ANI screengrab)

Doctors at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) have removed a foetus from a 21-year-old man in Odisha.

The man (whose identity has not been revealed) hails from Jaleswar in Balasore district. The foetus was growing in him since before his birth, says doctor Tushar Mishra.

The patient has been discharged after a successful operation and is reportedly leading a normal life.

foetus-in-fetu

A foetal developmental abnormality

In utero, the larger of a set of twin fetuses absorbs the other into his/her body

Worldwide, 20% multiple pregnancies end in a miscarriage

Normally, the deceased twin is absorbed by the mother or the placenta

But one in five lakh times, it is sucked up by the other twin, termed as foetus-in-fetu

‘Foetus in fetu’ is a rare condition where one foetus grows into another foetus. The smaller foetus does not have the capacity to grow much. It remains a fleshy mass. This foetus was there in this man’s body.

Tushar Mishra, AIIMS Dept of Surgery

Video Editor: Ashutosh Bhardwaj