Key Points
Extremely rare medical condition called 'fetus in fetu' detected
Parasitic twin found during routine pregnancy sonography
Only 100-200 global cases ever reported
Unique discovery in Maharashtra government hospital
This is a case of a 'fetus in fetu', a condition where a parasitic twin develops inside its identical twin. It's characterized by a mass in the abdomen that resembles a fetus.
The case has been detected at a government hospital when a nine-month pregnant 32-year-old woman underwent a sonography in the hospital.
This detection was missed in earlier sonographies due to the rarity of the case, said Dr Prasad Aggarwal, Gynecologist and Sonography Specialist at the District Women's Hospital in Buldhana.
"Two days ago, a 32-year-old woman came here for a regular checkup. She is 9 months pregnant. While doing sonography, I found that her unborn child was also carrying a child. We missed this in her earlier sonographies since this is the rarest of rare conditions," he said.
The condition is so rare that the total number of such cases in the world is only 100-200 while India hardly reports 10-15 such cases, the doctor said.
The woman has been referred to Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar for treatment, the doctor added.
"After doing a detailed study and discussing it with other doctors, it was confirmed. The embryo inside her unborn child is not growing. She has been referred to Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar for treatment. There have been 100-200 of such cases in the world which came to light only after the birth of the child... In India, there are hardly 10-15 such cases..."
"Fetus in fetu" is a very rare medical condition where a malformed fetus develops inside the body of its twin. It's considered a parasitic twin where the "parasitic" fetus grows inside the body of the "host" twin.
