A baby has been born with four kidneys.
Her condition is so rare that fewer than 100 such cases have ever been documented.
Little Isis Eloah Ferreira Alves has been in and out of hospital after coming into the world prematurely with four kidneys.
Supernumerary kidneys are believed to be the result of abnormal division of the nephrogenic cord into two metanephric blastemas that then form two kidneys.
Accessory kidneys, as they are also known, function normally and may go unnoticed throughout life.
After being born prematurely via C-section in Brasília, Brazil, Isis was placed in an incubator.
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Medics realised she had a kidney problem when she was still in mum Thalia Silva Alves’s womb, but they weren’t sure exactly what it was.
After Isis was born, her belly grew and grew.
It was only when she was undergoing surgery at five months that medics confirmed she had not just one but two accessory kidneys.
Her upper-right kidney was removed after an obstruction caused a build-up of urine.
This had caused it to increase in size, causing her belly to grow and compressing other organs in turn.
Her remaining three kidneys function normally.
Isis, who is now 13 months old, has been admitted to hospital many times because every time she gets the flu, she ends up with pneumonia.
This is because her lungs are fragile, due to her premature birth and long sedation.
Her removed kidney cannot be donated because its blood vessels aren’t entirely normal.
However, it has been sent for analysis.
Paediatric urologist Hélio Buson, who operated on Isis, told local media: “People might ask, ‘Well, can these kidneys cause any issues in the future?’
“They might, but it’s also possible that absolutely nothing will happen.
“Therefore, clinical monitoring is required for an extended period, many years, probably until she reaches adulthood.”
Single mum Thalia, 21, from Formosa said: “My daughter is unique.”
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