​Child born with two foetuses of twins

6 November 2015 05:53 pm

A baby girl was born at the Mahamodera Hospital with twin still-born foetuses in her mouth . The doctors had successfully removed the foetuses from her mouth. Hospital sources say the baby is in good health.

A woman living in Galle had given birth to the baby girl on October 26. The doctors who had inspected the pregnant woman's womb had revealed a peculiar attachment on the face of the child inside the womb and suspecting it to be some kind of a cyst had performed a caesarean section.

The infant's mouth was wide open and she was having breathing difficulties and neither could she suckle. The infant was kept in the Premature Babies Intensive Care Unit under the care of the Specialist Pediatrician Dr S. Kasthuri. The infant was then referred to Oral and Maxillofacial Specialist Surgeon Dr. D.K. Dias.

The doctors were of the view that an operation had to be performed to remove the suspected cyst from inside the infant's mouth. The operation was carried out three days later. The suspected cyst was removed from the mouth of the infant during a 90-minute surgery. Though earlier thought to be a Mature Teraroma Syndrome it was later found to be the dead foetuses of twins. These foetuses were sent for further investigations.

Dr Dias said it was not unusual for a foetus to develop joined to a baby inside the mother’s womb, but it was strange to find two immature foetuses inside the mouth of an unborn baby. The child had her upper jaw cleft. The baby is now able to open and close her mouth and also is able to be breast-fed.

Doctors said another operation had to be carried out in another one and half years to close the cleft in the upper jaw and until then she would experience speech disabilities. (Sajeewa Wijeweera)