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Baby Born With Extra Foot ... in Brain

Foot, other partly formed appendages may have been from twin that grew within

By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff

Posted Dec 18, 2008 5:23 PM CST

(Newser) – Surgery to remove a brain tumor from a 3-day-old Colorado boy turned up something “borderline unheard-of,” his doctors say: a foot. When the pediatric neurosurgeon operated Oct. 3 on Sam Esquibel, he saw a small foot, other half-formed appendages, and even intestines in the baby’s head, reports the Colorado Springs Gazette. All were removed, and Sam is back home and doing fine.

"It looked like the breach delivery of a baby—coming out of the brain," says the surgeon. Doctors speculate that it may have been a rare form of teratoma, a congenital brain tumor that takes the form of body tissue. It also could have been a case of fetus in fetu, in which a fetus grows inside its twin—but that usually occurs in the torso, not the head.

An artist's rendition of a human brain.
An artist's rendition of a human brain.   (Shutterstock)
A baby's foot is shown in this undated file photo.
A baby's foot is shown in this undated file photo.   (Shutterstock)
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You show those pictures to the most experienced pediatric neurosurgeons in the world, and they've never seen anything like it.
- Dr. Paul Grabb, pediatric neurosurgeon

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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 4 comments
Zebraone
Dec 19, 2008 6:28 AM CST
And who paid for this?
Shannonals
Dec 19, 2008 1:27 AM CST
Even though it was explained how it could have occured, I'm still amazed
sache
Dec 18, 2008 9:55 PM CST
Who paid for what? Why would you ask that question? My first thougth was, how awful and i hope the little boy is okay.
 

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