One teenager underwent surgery to remove his unborn twin from his abdomen. Zul Shahril Mohd Saidin, 15, carried a lifelong malformed fetus that, according to local press, had hair, legs, hands and genitals.

The case, called fetus in fetu, is rare and happens when an unviable fetus is encompassed by its normally developing twin. It can usually lodge in the abdomen or retroperineal cavity.

Zul Shahril Mohd Saidin, 15 years old

The teenager was recently hospitalized only after complaining of pain for four months. According to the boy's mother, Hasmah Ahmad, 38, the family believed the son had a tumor and now celebrates the success of the surgery.

The removed fetus was buried in a cemetery.

Fetus was taken from brother's abdomen

How does fetus in fetu happen

If a woman is pregnant with twins, in the first weeks of pregnancy, one of the babies may enter the other's umbilical cord, becoming a parasite on the brother's body.

In this way, fetus in fetu can be compared to a tumor, which is maintained by the body and maintains metabolic activity. However, as the fetus is not in an environment conducive to its development, there is no functioning of brain, heart, lungs, among other organs, which makes the life of this parasitic twin outside the body of the brother impossible.