• 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
Doctors are left astounded after finding a fetus growing in a one-year-old girl's skull

Home> News> World News

Published 14:54 11 Jul 2024 GMT+1

Doctors are left astounded after finding a fetus growing in a one-year-old girl's skull

A team of doctors in Shanghai made the rare discovery after a one-year-old girl was brought in experiencing delays in speech development

Poppy Bilderbeck

Poppy Bilderbeck

Warning: This article contains discussion of medical condition which some readers may find distressing.

Doctors in China had to perform surgery on a one-year-old girl after finding a 'parasitic unborn twin' in her head.

A one-year-old girl was brought in to see doctors in Shanghai, China after experiencing 'delays in motor skills and speech development'.

The one-year-old's parents took her to hospital after she began showing signs of developmental issues (Getty Stock Images/ RunPhoto)
The one-year-old's parents took her to hospital after she began showing signs of developmental issues (Getty Stock Images/ RunPhoto)

Advert

'Abnormalities' had already been detected before the child had been born at a 33-week examination, according to a study - titled Intracranial Parasitic Fetus in a Living Infant - published in the American Journal of Case Reports.

However, the examination hadn't been able to identify exactly what was wrong, the study noting an 'MRI could not provide more information due to space occupation'.

When the baby was delivered four weeks later, she was born with 'a large head circumference' and later on, more alarm bells started sounding when she was 'only able to say "mom"' by the age of around one years old.

And after being taken in to see doctors in Shanghai, a head CT scan revealed a rare finding.

Advert

The head CT scan of the one-year-old (Neurology Journals/ Zongze Li et al)
The head CT scan of the one-year-old (Neurology Journals/ Zongze Li et al)

The study explains the scan revealed there was a 'large mass' in the young girl's cerebral hemisphere - the part of the brain that not only controls muscle function but also speech and learning.

The mass measured '13-cam maximum diameter' and had 'internal bone structure' with a 'smooth boundary'.

The study adds: "Both ventricles and third ventricle had hydrops, with a fetal shape at a continuous level, along with apparent compression near the cerebral parenchyma."

Advert

A fetus was identified as being inside the girl's head, known as fetus in fetu (FIF) - 'a rare developmental abnormality in which a malformed fetus is found within the body of other twin,' as per BMJ Case Reports.

The condition - also known as a parasitic twin - sees one twin stop developing, but remain attached to its twin while that twin continues to develop. It's extremely rare and is estimated to occur in one in half-a-million live births, according to a study in the Medical Journal of Australia.

Doctors ultimately decided to perform a craniotomy on the young girl.

"A craniotomy is the surgical removal of part of the bone from the skull to expose the brain," John Hopkins Medicine explains.

Advert

Doctors performed surgery on the one-year-old to remove the fetus (Getty Stock Images/ Morse Images)
Doctors performed surgery on the one-year-old to remove the fetus (Getty Stock Images/ Morse Images)

"Following complete mass resection, mouth, eye, arm, and hand shapes could be observed," the study adds.

Sadly, despite doctors extensive 'preoperative examinations, laboratory tests, and surgical planning' and the patient being 'unconscious' under general anesthetic during the surgery, the one-year-old experienced 'seizures that were difficult to control'.

She passed away 12 days after the surgery.

Advert

The study resolved: "Teratomas can be distinguished based on anatomy and imaging. Surgical resection is the only curative treatment and its prognosis is poor."

If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence, contact The Compassionate Friends on (877) 969-0010.

Featured Image Credit: Neurology Journals/ Zongze Li et al

Topics: China, Health, World News, Science

Poppy Bilderbeck
Poppy Bilderbeck

Poppy Bilderbeck is a Senior Journalist at LADbible Group. She graduated from The University of Manchester in 2021 with a First in English Literature and Drama, where alongside her studies she was Editor-in-Chief of The Tab Manchester. Poppy is most comfortable when chatting about all things mental health, is proving a drama degree is far from useless by watching and reviewing as many TV shows and films as possible and is such a crisp fanatic the office has been forced to release them in batches.

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

an hour ago
2 hours ago
  • an hour ago

    Flesh-eating bacteria leaves 4 people dead in Florida as health officials issue warning

    The deaths occurred across four Florida counties

    News
  • 2 hours ago

    Man who lured victims for the 'Candy Man' serial killer speaks out for the first time

    Elmer Wayne Henley Jr. was a teenager when he began working with Dean Corll

    News
  • 2 hours ago

    People are discovering dark meaning behind Nike’s 'Just Do It' slogan

    It has nothing to do with Shia LaBeouf's motivational speech

    News
  • 2 hours ago

    Royal Caribbean issues statement after mystery illness takes over ship travelling from USA to Mexico

    The CDC is investigating the cause of the breakout

    News
  • Doctors stunned after discovering prescription drug used by millions 'could prevent up to 1,000,000 cases of dementia' per year
  • Man suffered most painful death ever recorded in human history that lasted 83 days after doctors kept him alive
  • Surgeon fired after allegedly allowing teenage daughter to drill hole in patient's skull
  • Doctors make medical breakthrough with successful transplant of a fully mechanical heart inside a human