Doctors were left completely stumped after discovering a huge lump – weighing the same as a loaf of bread – growing inside a baby’s stomach.
The baby girl was rushed to the medics after her worried parents noticed a swelling in her abdomen when she was just seven months old.
The lump continued to grow, and the tot had also been suffering from repeated upper respiratory tract infections for around three months.
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Up until seven months, she had been gaining weight normally and tipped the scales at 9.5kg.
But by the time she was examined by doctors aged 11 and a half months, her weight had dropped to 8.8kg.
Despite the alarming lump, the youngster showed no other worrying symptoms.
She had no bowel or urinary problems, her chest X-ray was normal, and blood tests showed nothing out of the ordinary.
A contrast CT scan later revealed a large, multi-sectioned cystic mass with thick walls, pushing her abdominal organs out of position.
Medics eventually diagnosed the child with neuroglial heterotopia – a rare but benign congenital condition, as reported by Need To Know.
The condition involves mature brain tissue growing outside the brain and spinal cord and is usually found in the head or neck.
But in this extraordinary case, the tissue was growing deep inside the abdomen, in a retroperitoneal location.
The condition is so rare that only six similar cases have ever been reported in English medical literature.
A specialist surgical team stepped in to remove the mass through an incision in the upper abdomen.
The tumour was carefully separated from major blood vessels and moved away from the left kidney, adrenal gland, spleen, pancreas and pelvic organs before being safely removed.
The mass weighed a staggering 550g – about the same as a loaf of bread – and contained cysts of varying sizes.
The brave baby was able to feed just 12 hours after surgery and made an “uneventful” recovery.
She was discharged from the hospital four days later.
Follow-up check-ups show she is now back to normal – active, healthy and gaining weight once again.
The tot is believed to have been treated in Assam, India.
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The excised tumour with variable size cysts and solid component. (Picture: Jam Press)
