A surgical team from The Royal Hospital’s Paediatric Surgery Department has succeeded in performing a rare surgery for an eight-month old baby with ‘Foetus in Fetu’ condition – a developmental abnormality in which a mass of tissue resembling a foetus forms inside the body. 

The surgical team was led by head of Paediatric Surgery, Dr Mohammed al Sajwani, along with three paediatric surgeons Dr Saeed Bani Oraba, Dr Mahmood Ibrahim, and Dr Mohammed Hamed, and with the cooperation of anaesthetists and nurses. 

The patient’s post-surgery examinations and vital signs showed success and was discharged after three days. 

‘Foetus in Fetu’ is a rare medical phenomenon that is estimated to occur in 1 in 500,000 live births. 

A foetus in fetu can be considered alive, but only in the sense that its component tissues have not yet died or been eliminated.