Teenager with ‘parasitic twin’ attached to his stomach that could ‘feel pain and touch’ leaves doctors shocked
Doctors performed a life-saving procedure to save the life of a teenager who had two extra feet attached to his stomach due to an extremely rare condition.
The 17-year-old, who is from Uttar Pradesh, India, was born with his ‘parasitic’ twin attached to his abdomen and had a fully developed extra set of legs, as well as a pelvis.
A parasitic twin is a rare condition where one baby is born with their underdeveloped twin attached to some part of their body – head, torso, abdomen, chest, pelvis, buttocks or back.
Only about 50 cases of parasitic twins have ever been recorded in history – making the condition about one-in 100-million.
In the teenager’s case, he had two fully formed legs, buttocks and external genitalia – weighing nearly 30lbs attached to his abdomen.
Through scans, the doctors found the parasitic twin was adhered to the teen’s breastbone and was being sustained by an artery in his chest.
His parasitic limbs could feel pain, touch and change in temperature and caused him trouble while sleeping.
He first visited the doctor in January 2025 and surgeons removed the parasitic twin about a month later.
The 17-year-old, who is from Uttar Pradesh, was born with his ‘parasitic’ twin attached to his abdomen and had a fully developed extra set of limbs as well as a pelvis
Dr Asuri Krishna, a professor at All India Institute Of Medical Sciences in New Delhi and lead surgeon on the case, said he thought the boy was carrying a child when he visited the hospital on January 28.
However, he and his team of specialists discovered the limbs and determined they needed to surgically remove the growths.
A team of doctors, including radiologists, anesthesiologists and plastic surgeons, performed the procedure in two phases over the span of two-and-a-half hours on February 8.
In the first phase, the surgeons removed the parasitic limb through careful dissection and vessel ligation.
Vessel ligation is a surgical procedure that involves tying off (ligating) a blood vessel to stop bleeding, preventing blood flow to a specific area.
In the second phase, experts carefully separated the mass of the limbs from surrounding organs.
Dr Krishna noted the surgery was particularly challenging because of the patient’s age and the rarity of the situation.
He told BBC News due to insufficient medical literature on the condition, the team had to rely on their ‘intuition, skill and knowledge.’
Dr Krishna said: ‘A mesh of shared blood vessels, nerves and tissues had to be separated. Care had to be taken to see that none of the host’s organs or tissues were damaged.
‘But there wasn’t much connection with other main organs like the liver or kidneys.’
Dr Asuri Krishna, a professor at the All India Institute Of Medical Sciences in New Delhi and lead surgeon on the case, said he thought the boy was carrying a child when he first visited the hospital on January 28
He added they found a large cyst in the teen’s abdomen, which also had to be removed.
While doctors in the past had advised the teenager against having a surgery, due to the limbs being connected to an artery which could cause excessive bleeding and potential death, Dr Krishna and his team remained confident in the procedure.
After the surgery, the teenager stayed in the hospital for observation and was sent home four days later.
Recounting his life before the surgery, he told the Indian Express he was forced to drop out of school in the eighth grade and ‘couldn’t travel anywhere or do any physical activity’.
But now after the successful surgery, he feels ecstatic and wants to live an active life.
‘I hope to study and get a job. A new world has opened up to me,’ he told the publication.
While researchers have no clear reason for what causes parasitic twins, they point to two main theories – the fission theory and the fusion theory.
When a fertilized egg fully separates into two, the result is identical twins.
According to the fission theory, if a fertilized egg partially splits or does not completely separate, it results in conjoined twins.
In this case, a parasitic twin happens when one of the fetuses in a conjoined twin stops developing and remains attached to the one who is developing at a normal rate.
The fusion theory suggests that the two separate fertilized eggs grow or fuse together during development.
Under this theory, a parasitic twin occurs when one of these two fertilized eggs stops developing but remains attached to its twin.
Usually, a parasitic twin cannot be seen until the completely formed twin is born however in some cases, it is possible to diagnose the condition in a prenatal ultrasound.
Once the dominant twin is born, doctors evaluate them to ensure their heart, lungs and other organs are working properly.
In all cases, surgery is necessary to remove the additional lumps of mass or limbs from the child’s body.
If left untreated, the dominant twin could be susceptible to diseases and complications from supporting its parasitic twin.
