Doctors at the government hospital in Naypyidaw have successfully removed what appeared to be triplet foetuses inside a three-month-old boy, the Burmese military-owned Myawady News reported on Tuesday.
The boy, whose birthplace was not mentioned, was transferred to Naypyidaw from Mandalay Children’s Hospital after X-ray scans showed what appeared to be three foetuses inside his body, according to the report. His mother initially brought him to the hospital after his belly became unusually swollen a month and a half after he was born.
Dr. Naw Mar Thay, the chief of surgery at the Naypyidaw hospital, said the boy’s 19 December operation was a success. The three foetuses – including one fairly well-developed, “in human form,” Myawady reported – were removed from his body. She said the boy suffered a rare medical condition that only occurs in one in 500,000 births.
Than Than Oo, the mother of the boy, expressed her gratitude to the doctors.
“I was worried for my son every day and now I can’t express how happy I am to see him well and healthy,” said Than Than Oo.
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“I would like to thank all the doctors and nurses who successfully treated my son.”
The boy’s condition, known as “foetus in foetu,” is not well understood but cases have often made headlines.
In 2003, a seven-year-old boy in Kazakhstan underwent surgery after complaining that he felt movements in his abdomen, with doctors extracting a foetus complete with part of a head, hair and teeth.
