In a very rare medical incident, doctors in India discovered a calcified foetus (Stone Baby) in a woman's abdomen. According to reports, doctors have terminated the pregnancy of the woman 15 years ago as her family allegedly did not approve it. Experts say stone babies usually occur as a result of ectopic pregnancy where the foetus grows outside the womb.
In cases of ectopic pregnancy, the foetus has no way to escape the body. To combat possible infection, the body mummifies the foetus in a process called calcification. Calcification is basically the accumulation of salts the human body makes. The cases of stone babies are very rare in medical history, and as of now, only 300 incidents are reported.
Details of the incident
The women underwent an abortion in 2002 following pressure from her family. After the abortion, her gynaecologist and obstetrician confirmed that the abortion was successful, and the foetus was removed from her body.
In the course of time, the woman started developing abdominal pain and visited many doctors. All these doctors considered her disorder as a usual abdominal problem and prescribed painkillers. Things became worse in the last three years when the woman continuously vomited.
She soon consulted a specialist and underwent an MRI scan, when the stone baby was found. In an operation which lasted for more than 150 minutes, the surgeon took out the fully grown stone baby from the stomach of the woman on November 23. The operation was headed by Dr Nilesh Junankar, a laparoscopic surgeon at the Junankar Surgical Nursing Home.
"It was a shock for everyone present in the operating theatre. After opening the abdomen, a fully grown 'stone baby'. However, her uterus, ovaries and fallopian tubes were totally normal. The patient had stopped menstruating five years back and was not in a childbearing age," said Dr Nilesh, reports Daily Mail.
After getting discharged from the hospital, the woman thanked the doctors for freeing her from a decade-long pain.
