A teenager has had his twin’s foetus removed from his stomach in Malaysia

A 15-year-old boy from Malaysia has had the foetus of his twin removed from his stomach.

According to the BBC, the boy had lived with the parasitic foetus in his stomach his whole life, but it was only discovered recently when he went to the hospital complaining of pain.

After being admitted into the Baling District Hospital, he was eventually referred to a specialist at the Sultan Abdul Hamid Hospital in Sungai Petani, who diagnosed his problem.

The boy's mother said that funeral rites had been performed on the foetus and it was buried. Reports state that the foetus had legs, hands and genitals. There is no known cause but 'vanishing' or 'parasitic' twins occur when one foetus wraps around the other. The twin that is enveloped then doesn't form fully, relying on the host twin for survival. One case involved a man from India who was 36 before his parasitic twin was discovered. It often happens in more isolated areas where access to medical facilities are highly limited.