Doctors find fetus living in another baby's skull

A 1-year-old Chinese child was hospitalized due to an increase in the size of her head, which was compromising her natural development. The condition, which could have been a tumor, turned out to be an unusual problem: an intracranial parasitic fetus in a living baby. The case was described in the scientific journal American Journal of Case Reports and the fetus removed from the girl's skull was 18 centimeters long and had developed an arm, eye and hair.

Background

Abnormalities in the baby's head were observed during the 33-week pregnancy test. However, MRI could not provide additional information due to superficial obstruction. The girl was born via cesarean section 37 weeks ago, with a larger than normal head. As she grew, her motor coordination and speech did not develop quickly, and she only knew how to say “mommy”.

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_{The abnormality is called parasitic and there are few documented cases in the world (Photo: reproduction/Marco VDM/Getty Images Embed)}

The doctors were not sure what exactly it was. They assumed it was a teratoma based on the anatomy and imaging. There was a large mass in the cerebral hemisphere, 18 cm in diameter, with smooth edges and internal bony structure visible on the CT scan of the skull. After preoperative examination, laboratory tests and surgical planning, a craniectomy was performed in the FIF (Fetus in Fetu) under general anesthesia.

The only alternative

FIF, or parasitic fetus, is a rare malformation that occurs in the anatomical space located behind the abdominal cavity called the peritoneum, but can be found in other national locations, such as the skull, the base of the spine and the mouth. Once it is completely removed, problems can be seen in the patient's mouth, eyes, arms and hands.

In this case, surgical removal was the only treatment option and the prognosis was not encouraging. The patient lost consciousness after surgery and the medical team had difficulty controlling her microscope. She died 12 days after surgery.

Featured Photo: MRI of the child's skull (Reproduction/Disclosure/American Journal of Case Reports)