A ‘twin fetus’ was found and removed from the skull of a 1-year-old child suffering from macrocephaly.
The British Daily Star reported on the 9th (local time) that doctors at Fudan University Hospital in China removed the fetus of identical twins from the skull of a 1-year-old child.
An unnamed 1-year-old Chinese child visited the hospital with his parents for macrocephaly and loss of motor skills. Doctors thought there might be a tumor on the child’s head, which is much larger than his normal head, and immediately performed a CT scan.
The medical staff holding the test papers were stunned. This is because a ‘fetus’ was crouching inside the child’s skull instead of a tumor. The fetus was squeezing the brain, sharing blood vessels within the skull. The child suffered from hydrocephalus (water encephalopathy), a collection of spinal fluid in parts of her brain due to the fetus occupying the position. The fetus received nutrients from the connected blood vessels and developed its bones, arms, and hands.
The child was immediately put on the operating table, and medical staff surgically removed the fetus from the skull. The neurosurgeon who performed the operation speculated that the removed fetus was the result of an undivided blastocyst. In the process of cell division, the unseparated part developed into the forebrain of the ‘host fetus’.
The specialist said that this case is a rare case of “disappearance of twins” (vanishing twin), an extremely rare case that has only been recorded about 200 times worldwide. Twin loss is a miscarriage in which one of the twins conceived between 10 and 15 weeks of pregnancy is absorbed by the pregnant woman or the other twin. The cause of the occurrence has not yet been clarified.
Medical staff at Fudan University Hospital are currently examining the prognosis of the child who underwent surgery, and are known to be concerned about long-term sequelae.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.