Fetus in fetu – The Hindu

The presence of a twin contained in the physique of the opposite twin might go undetected for years.

Uncommon foetus in foetus 

In January 2025, medical doctors on the Buldhana District Girls’s Hospital in Maharashtra detected a uncommon case of “fetus in fetu” in a pregnant lady. This situation happens when a malformed foetus develops inside one other foetus. The uncommon congenital anomaly was detected throughout an everyday sonographic evaluation of a 32-year-old pregnant lady. 

‘Foetus in fetu’ is a foetus-like mass developed inside the physique of the opposite foetus in a monozygotic twin being pregnant. Principally, one twin may be very underdeveloped and enwrapped contained in the physique of the opposite twin, a lot in order that the being pregnant is taken into account a singleton being pregnant. The presence of a twin contained in the physique of the opposite twin might go undetected for years. On this case, the situation was found throughout a routine being pregnant scan itself. The girl delivered the child by a C-section supply.  Docs carried out a surgical procedure on the new child to take away the undeveloped foetus wrapped within the toddler’s physique. Each the mom and child recovered properly.

Also called cryptodidymus, it is a uncommon congenital dysfunction that impacts about one in 500,000 births. Lower than 200 circumstances have been reported worldwide, with about 10 to fifteen circumstances in India.

The precise reason for this situation will not be totally understood, nevertheless it’s believed to outcome from an anomaly throughout the improvement of monozygotic or equivalent twins. About 10 to fifteen days after conception of monozygotic twins, the cell mass of the embryo could also be break up inconsistently, because of which one twin is smaller and incompletely shaped with the opposite twin totally developed. The smaller twin will get trapped inside the bigger twin. The trapped twin is taken into account “parasitic,” it attracts its blood provide and vitamins from the opposite “host” twin. The trapped or “parasitic twin” has some morphologic options of a standard foetus comparable to an umbilical cord-like construction, a bag of membranes surrounding it, and blood vessel connections to the host twin. It might have a vertebral column, limbs, and some organs however lacks important organs just like the mind, coronary heart. or intestine. Regardless of having “residing tissue,” the parasitic twin has no prospects of unbiased existence outdoors the host twin. 

 The presence of the parasitic twin impacts the well being of the host twin, who needed to “feed” the previous from the vitamins acquired over a single umbilical twine. As well as, enlargement of the trapped parasitic twin might compress important organs within the host and trigger discomfort or life-threatening problems.

Usually, the parasitic twin is discovered within the stomach of the host twin. Not often, it might be present in different organs just like the mind or chest. Many of the circumstances reported have introduced in childhood as stomach mass inflicting intestine obstruction and swelling. X-rays and CT scans have confirmed the presence of fetal buildings like digits, limbs, backbone, and so on., within the mass. Remedy is surgical excision of the mass — parasitic twin — with particular consideration being given to the foetus’ blood provide.

A seamless thriller

Fetus in fetu is taken into account a thriller of twinning for various causes: the precise mechanism of how one twin turns into enclosed inside the different throughout early embryonic improvement will not be totally understood. This wants higher perception into early embryologic processes. Whereas some circumstances present well-defined physique buildings, others might solely current as a mass with poorly developed organs, making analysis difficult. The age of presentation is variable, with some circumstances recognized solely when the host twin is 40. The presentation might range from seizures, tumour-like mass, or intestine, or kidney obstruction relying on the place the trapped twin lies.

There’s additionally the information that ‘Foetus in fetu’ possibly a developmental anomaly slightly than a real twin being pregnant, and what’s thought-about a parasitic twin may very well be a teratoma, a tumour with many elements together with bones, pores and skin, hair, and so on. On this regard, monitoring for malignant potential is really helpful.