It was “one of those very rare things that make the world stand still,” said Dr. Nicholas Chao, one of the surgeons who operated on the baby. He said he’d never seen anything like it before during his career in pediatric medicine.
The unusual condition, known as “fetus-in-fetu,” is estimated to happen once in every half million births but has been reported less than 200 times worldwide, according to the study published by Chao and his colleagues.
Medical uncertainty
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Her parents showed “some initial surprise” about the diagnosis, Chao said. But the condition wasn’t seen as life-threatening and the operation went smoothly.
Doctors, meanwhile, face a long wait before they get a clearer idea of how the mysterious “fetuses” are formed.
“You need a big series of these cases and lots of observations to get a more scientific understanding,” Chao said.
