A two-year old boy from the Chinese village of Huaxi was rushed into emergency surgery after doctors found the foetus of his twin brother growing inside him.
The young boy, named Xiao Feng, had reportedly become so distressed following complaints of stomach aches and breathing difficulties, that he was rushed to hospital for doctors to assess his overinflated stomach.
After MRIs and x-rays revealed that young Xiao had been carrying the foetus of his underdeveloped twin brother in the lining of his stomach, he was immediately scheduled for emergency surgery to remove the growing foetus.
Conjoined twins usually occur under the same conditions as identical twins, but unlike identical twins, the egg fails to separate into two halves before fertilisation.
Generally, conjoined twins can survive by acting as 'parasites' to one another, feeding off the same body, but not in the case where one twin absorbs the other. Sadly, this was the case with poor Xiao Feng.
The removed foetus measured 20cm in width, and had even developed a spine, limbs and appendages. He would have grown into a baby boy.
After MRIs and x-rays revealed that young Xiao had been carrying the foetus of his underdeveloped twin brother in the lining of his stomach, he was immediately scheduled for emergency surgery to remove the growing foetus.
Conjoined twins usually occur under the same conditions as identical twins, but unlike identical twins, the egg fails to separate into two halves before fertilisation.
Generally, conjoined twins can survive by acting as 'parasites' to one another, feeding off the same body, but not in the case where one twin absorbs the other. Sadly, this was the case with poor Xiao Feng.
The removed foetus measured 20cm in width, and had even developed a spine, limbs and appendages. He would have grown into a baby boy.
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