• News
  • Film and TV
  • Music
  • Tech
  • Features
  • Celebrity
  • Politics
  • Weird
  • Community
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content
Teenager shocks doctors with 'parasitic twin' connected to his stomach that could 'feel pain and touch'

Home> News> Health

Published 12:28 5 Mar 2025 GMT

Teenager shocks doctors with 'parasitic twin' connected to his stomach that could 'feel pain and touch'

The parasitic twin had fully formed legs, buttocks and genitalia

Emily Brown

Emily Brown

Doctors in India were forced to rely on 'intuition and skill' to perform surgery on a teenager who'd been living with a rare parasitic twin attached to his abdomen for 17 years.

A parasitic twin is similar to a conjoined twin, however it occurs when one fetus stops developing in the womb.

During this process, the fetus that stops developing remains attached to its twin, earning it the name of a 'parasitic' twin. Meanwhile, the other twin continues to develop and is usually born with the limbs and organs of their twin still attached to their body.

Parasitic twins is when one fetus stops developing in the womb (Getty Stock Photo)
Parasitic twins is when one fetus stops developing in the womb (Getty Stock Photo)

Advert

The condition only affects less than one in 1 million births worldwide, and one of those births was the teen from Unnao, Uttar Pradesh, India.

For years, the teen lived with two fully formed legs, buttocks and external genitalia, which weighed nearly 15kg, attached to his body. The limbs protruded from his abdomen, and it was determined they could feel pain, touch and even change in temperature.

In an interview with The Indian Express newspaper, the teen said he 'couldn't travel anywhere' without facing stares and jokes from members of the public; reactions that took a toll on his mental health.

He dropped out of school in the eighth grade, and it wasn't until he reached 17 years old that he underwent surgery to remove the additional extremities.

Advert

The procedure was conducted by a team of specialists led by Dr Asuri Krishna, but the doctor admitted there was insufficient medical literature available to help guide the team.

Speaking to BBC News, Dr Krishna explained: "Only 40-50 cases of parasitic twins have been documented in world medical literature and, in those cases, the surgery had been attempted on children."

The surgery was performed successfully (Getty Stock Photo)
The surgery was performed successfully (Getty Stock Photo)

The team were forced to rely on their 'intuition, skill and knowledge' to perform the surgery, which began with the doctors finding out exactly how interconnected the teen and his twin were.

Advert

Scans revealed the extra limbs were being supplied blood through a vessel in the teen's chest, but there 'wasn't much connection with other main organs like the liver or kidneys'.

The teen then underwent two stages of surgery - one to remove the limbs, and one to remove a cystic mass which had formed around surrounding organs.

The procedure took two-and-a-half hours, during which the medics separated 'a mesh of shared blood vessels, nerves and tissues'.

"Care had to be taken to see that none of the host's organs or tissues were damaged," Dr Krishna explained.

Advert

Four days after he was admitted, the teen was discharged with no complications from the surgery.

Now, he hopes to live an active life including going back to his studies, and getting a job.

"A new world has opened up to me," he said.

Featured Image Credit: Getty Stock Image

Topics: India, Health

Emily Brown
Emily Brown

Emily Brown is UNILAD Editorial Lead at LADbible Group. She first began delivering news when she was just 11 years old - with a paper route - before graduating with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University. Emily joined UNILAD in 2018 to cover breaking news, trending stories and longer form features. She went on to become Community Desk Lead, commissioning and writing human interest stories from across the globe, before moving to the role of Editorial Lead. Emily now works alongside the UNILAD Editor to ensure the page delivers accurate, interesting and high quality content.

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

4 hours ago
6 hours ago
7 hours ago
  • 4 hours ago

    Cult classic film removed from Disney+ over controversial scene that had it banned from TV

    The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) has long expressed its concerns about the scene in the 1989 movie

    Film & TV
  • 6 hours ago

    Vin Diesel hints Paul Walker could be in upcoming Fast and Furious movie and it's left fans very divided

    He's desperate to reunite Dom and Brian

    Film & TV
  • 6 hours ago

    Trump supporters are revealing the ‘red line’ that would make them stop supporting him and people say it’s ‘disturbing’

    President Trump's shocking approval ratings were recently released

    News
  • 7 hours ago

    Starbucks customer outraged after barista allegedly wrote 'illegal' joke on her cup

    "When I read it I’m like, OK. Was I supposed to laugh?"

    News
  • Terrifying study finds 30% of Americans could be infected with parasite that has horrific impact on brains
  • Doctor warns that frequent bodily function millions are walking around with could be common cancer symptom
  • Two fetuses shockingly found inside baby boy's tummy that were once his siblings
  • Doctors reveal the every day tasks that could be damaging your eyesight without you knowing