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A 20-day-old baby in India recently underwent a rare surgical procedure to remove two underdeveloped fetuses—known as parasitic twins—or more precisely, “foetus-in-foetu,” from her abdomen. This extremely uncommon condition affects fewer than 200 people worldwide. Doctors at Fortis Memorial Research Institute in Gurugram performed the operation after scans revealed what appeared to be abdominal tumors, which were actually these malformed fetuses.

According to pediatric surgeon Dr. Anand Sinha, the baby was admitted in a fragile state—her abdomen was swollen, she was irritable, and unable to eat because the parasitic twins were pressing on her organs. Initial efforts focused on stabilizing her condition before proceeding with the surgery. Two days later, a team of around fifteen medical professionals carefully removed the parasitic fetuses during a two-hour operation, taking special care to avoid damaging the baby’s own organs and blood vessels. 

Fortunately, the baby recovered well and was discharged about a month later with no complications reported so far. Dr. Sinha noted that it’s critical to remove parasitic fetuses early on—even though these structures are non-cancerous, they can continue growing and potentially cause health problems later in life if left in place. In a similar case in 2024 in Kolkata, a baby died after surgery, underscoring the delicate nature of such operations.