Korean J Perinatol.  2006 Jun;17(2):225-230.

A Case of Fetus in Fetu

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Catholic University of Daegu, Korea. wootykim@cu.ac.kr
  • 2Department of Obstetrics, School of Medicine, Catholic University of Daegu, Korea.
  • 3Department of Pediatric Surgery, School of Medicine, Catholic University of Daegu, Korea.
  • 4Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, Catholic University of Daegu, Korea.
  • 5Department of Radiology, School of Medicine, Catholic University of Daegu, Korea.

Abstract

Fetus in fetu is an extremely uncommon cause of abdominal mass in the neonate with an incidence of 1 in 500,000 births. This is thought to occur when a monozygotic, diamniotic twin is incorporated into the body of its sibling early in embryonic development. A case of retroperitoneal fetus in fetu in a 3 day old male infant is reported, the excised round mass contained the vertebral column, 2 feet, 2 arms, small penis and testis. The presence of vertebral axis and organogenesis differentiates it from a teratoma. More than 100 cases of fetus in fetu have been reported, most of which have been in the abdomen. We report a case of a well developed fetus in the retroperitoneal area of a neonate delivered at term.

Keyword

Fetus in fetu; Retroperitoneal; Teratoma

MeSH Terms

Abdomen
Arm
Axis, Cervical Vertebra
Embryonic Development
Female
Fetus*
Foot
Humans
Incidence
Infant
Infant, Newborn
Male
Organogenesis
Parturition
Penis
Pregnancy
Siblings
Spine
Teratoma
Testis
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