RAHIM YAR KHAN (Dunya News) - Doctors in Rahim Yar Khan have successfully treated a rare and unusual medical case in which a partially developed fetus, without a head, was surgically removed from the chest of a five-year-old boy.
According to a spokesperson for Sheikh Zayed Hospital, the child was admitted with persistent respiratory problems, and doctors later discovered the presence of an incomplete fetus inside his chest. A complex surgical procedure was performed to remove the mass, which was identified as a rare condition known as fetus in fetu.
The surgery was carried out by thoracic surgeon Dr Sultan Mahmood Owaisi, who said the medical team successfully completed the highly delicate operation. He explained that the removed fetus was underdeveloped and non-viable. The mass was located dangerously close to the child’s main cardiac artery, making the procedure particularly challenging.
Hospital officials confirmed that the child’s condition is now stable following the surgery and that he is receiving the best possible medical care.
Dr Sultan Owaisi said that such cases are extremely rare and are usually found in the abdomen. However, this case was unique because the fetus was located in the chest. He added that several body parts of the fetus had developed, but the condition remained undiagnosed for five years.
Speaking to the BBC, Dr Owaisi revealed that the child had been suffering from breathing difficulties, chest infections, cough, and recurring fever since he was just 18 days old. Despite multiple medical consultations over the years, the condition went undetected until a CT scan was conducted, which confirmed the diagnosis of fetus in fetu.
Doctors stated that the removed fetus weighed approximately one kilogram and had a partially developed spine, hair, teeth, and other organs, but no head.
Explaining the condition, Professor Nadeem Akhtar, Head of Pediatric Surgery at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), told the BBC that fetus in fetu is a rare abnormality in which a fetus-like mass develops inside the body, often resembling a tumor. While it contains the three germ layers found in a fetus, it usually remains localized and does not spread like cancer.