Indian Doctors Perform Rare Surgery, Remove Parasitic Foetuses From Baby’s Abdomen

Last Updated:September 05, 2025, 09:40 IST

The case dates back to July this year when a 20-day old infant was admitted to a hospital in Gurugram. The baby is healthy and doing fine now.

The infant was admitted to Gurugram's Fortis Memorial Research Institute (Representative image)

In a major surgery success, Indian doctors removed “parasitic twins"- a rare condition with fewer than 200 cases worldwide- from inside the abdomen of a 20-day-old baby. The woman was pregnant with triplets, and two of the fetuses started growing inside the abdomen of the baby.

A parasitic twin happens when identical twins start to form from a single fertilised egg, but the division is incomplete or uneven. One twin develops normally, while the other fails to fully form and depends on the healthy twin’s body for survival.

Speaking about the surgery, Dr Anand Sinha, a paediatric surgeon who led the operation, told the BBC that it was challenging, adding that the “baby is now fine and doing well".

Dr Anand also informed that they discharged the baby from the hospital a month back, and the infant has reported no complications so far.

The infant was admitted to Gurugram’s Fortis Memorial Research Institute in July this year.

“She had a bloated abdomen, was irritable, and was unable to eat anything because the foetuses were squashing her stomach," Dr Anand was quoted as saying.

“The operation took about two hours," he added.

According to Dr Anand, they could not perform the surgery immediately after the child was brought to the hospital, as she was dehydrated and malnourished. After two days, when her condition had improved, they operated on her and the surgery was successful.

“Throughout the surgery, the baby’s temperature was monitored. We also had to make sure that there wasn’t too much blood loss," said Dr Anand.

Anushka Vats

Anushka Vats is a Sub-Editor at News18.com with a passion for storytelling and a curiosity that extends beyond the newsroom. She covers both national and international news. For more stories, you can follow her...Read More

Anushka Vats is a Sub-Editor at News18.com with a passion for storytelling and a curiosity that extends beyond the newsroom. She covers both national and international news. For more stories, you can follow her...

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