3-year-old girl with parasitic twin stuck to her skull undergoes rare surgery

In a rare surgery, a parasitic twin that was stuck to a little girl's skull has been successfully removed. Doctors at AIIMS Bhopal have removed the twin and the girl is recovering well now.

"The girl, who hails from Ashoknagar, Bhopal, had a fleshy bulge on the back of her neck since birth. After being admitted to AIIMS, Bhopal's neurosurgery department, MRI and CT scans were performed," India Today reported.

After scans, an incomplete body leg and pelvic bones were attached to the skull, spine and brain stem of the child.

"This case was related to a parasitic twin, in which an underdeveloped twin fetus was stuck to the skull and neck of a living girl. This incomplete twin child remains stuck to its fully developed twin. This incomplete twin cannot live on its own and is dependent on its twin," Prof Dr Ajay Singh, Executive Director of AIIMS Bhopal, told the media outlet.


In February 2025, a similar surgery was performed on a 17 year old boy

A similar incident had occurred in national capital Delhi when a parasitic twin was found attached to the abdomen of a 17 year old boy. "The teenager who had a fully developed extra set of limbs and a pelvis - sustained by a chest artery - underwent a two-hour surgery at AIIMS hospital in Delhi," BBC reported.

In the surgery, first the parasitic twin was removed and then the cystic mass from surrounding organs was removed. "A mesh of shared blood vessels, nerves and tissues had to be separated. Care had to be taken to see that none of the host's organs or tissues were damaged," Dr Krishna told the media.


The occurrence of parasitic twin is extremely rare

Parasitic twinning is an exceptionally rare and fascinating medical condition, occurring in approximately 1 in 100,000 births. It is a type of conjoined twinning where one of the twins—referred to as the "parasitic" twin—is incompletely developed and dependent on the body systems of the other, fully formed "host" twin. Unlike traditional conjoined twins, parasitic twins are non-functional and cannot survive independently.

This condition develops during early embryonic growth when identical twins fail to completely separate. As one twin develops normally, the other’s growth is stunted, leaving it partially attached and reliant on the host twin for blood supply and nutrients. The parasitic twin may appear as an extra limb, organ, or mass, sometimes hidden internally or visibly protruding from the host’s body.

Diagnosis typically occurs through prenatal ultrasound or postnatal imaging, such as MRI or CT scans. In many cases, surgical removal of the parasitic twin is possible and often necessary to ensure the health and well-being of the host twin. The surgery's complexity depends on how and where the parasitic tissues are attached.