<i> Embryo removed from man's abdomen</i>
Surgeons at a hospital in the capital yesterday successfully removed an embryo which had been growing in 40-year-old Abdul Malek's abdomen since his birth.
They declared Malek out of danger after performing a three-hour operation at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) hospital.
“Though the embryo received nutrition from the host body, it was not a pregnancy. Rather it grew like a parasite,” said Chairman of surgery department Prof Syed Serajul Karim at a press conference in the hospital.
It cannot be termed a baby even though the 5-kilogram tumour with hair, fingers and bones bears the shape of a baby. It did not develop brain or heart and was not a living being, stated the physicians.
The tumour grew with embryonic cell and would never be a viable child, mentioned Prof Zulfiqur Rahman Khan.
It would be sent to the radiology department for a digital x-ray to diagnose the type of its bones, added the doctors.
Prof Serajul Karim, Prof Zulfiqur, Prof AHM Towhidul Alam, Dr Saifuddin Ahmed, Dr Aminul Islam Joarder along with medical officers carried out the surgery.
Doctors of BSMMU performed a similar surgery in 2005 on a 16-year-old boy, who is now leading a normal life.
Malek of Bogra was admitted to BSMMU on May 15. Earlier he was taken to Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College in Bogra following repeated complaint of abdominal pain.
Medical investigations confirmed he had been carrying an unborn embryo.
According to experts, about 90 such cases have been found across the world so far.
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