A Case of Retroperitoneal Mass in Infancy, Fetus in Fetus.

Kim, Su Jin; Jeong, Eun Ho; Kim, Ji Yeon; Lee, Mee Wha; Shim, Sung Shin; Lee, Yong Hee; Son, Suk Woo; Shin, Seung Ju

Obstet Gynecol Sci > Volume 47(9); 2004 > Article

Case Report

Korean Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology 2004;47(9):1758-1762.
Published online September 1, 2004.

A Case of Retroperitoneal Mass in Infancy, Fetus in Fetus.

Su Jin Kim, Eun Ho Jeong, Ji Yeon Kim, Mee Wha Lee, Sung Shin Shim, Yong Hee Lee, Suk Woo Son, Seung Ju Shin

¹Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, College of Medicine Pochon CHA University, Seoul, Korea.
²Department of Pathology, College of Medicine Pochon CHA University, Seoul, Korea.
³Department of Pediatric Surgery, College of Medicine Pochon CHA University, Seoul, Korea.

Abstract

"Fetus in fetus" is a rare pathologic feature consisting of a parasitic twin included within the body of the other twin, which most likely arises from inclusion of a monozygotic, diamniotic twin pregnancy. The exact embryogenesis of fetus in fetus is controversial. Some investigators propose that it is a highly organized teratoma. Since the condition was first described by Meckel in the late 18th centry, approximately 100 cases have been reported in the literature. Most cases present as an abdominal mass during the first year of life, with a few cases being detected prenatally by ultrasound examination. So we report one case of fetus in fetus detected by ultrasound examination prenatally.

Key Words: Fetus in fetus, Parasitic twin