Jyoti Kumar, from central India, became pregnant at the age of 24 in 1978.

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Doctors warned the expectant mother that her unborn child had little chance of survival, after it was found to be growing outside of her womb.

They insisted she would need an operation but, terrified at the thought of going under the knife, she fled and sought treatment for the pain at a small clinic.

Months later, the pain stopped and Jyoti thought she had been treated.

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But, 38 years after the ectopic pregnancy, the now 62-year-old began to experience constant stomach pains.

After visiting a city hospital, surgeons discovered the bones of her stillborn child.

Dr Mohammad Yunus Shah said: "She said the pain had been consistent over the last two months and we found a lump on the lower right side of her abdomen, and feared it was cancer."

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"The presence of a lump was confirmed by sonography.

"A CT scan then revealed that the lump was made of hard, calcified matter.

"But it was only after the patient underwent an MRI that we could make out that the mass was in fact a child's skeleton."

He added: "We believe this could be the longest case on record at 38 years.

"We asked for a detailed medical history and all we could get was that the patient's brother told us that in 1978 she was pregnant and had some complications."

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"She apparently knew that the baby had died and that she would need an operation, and we gathered she got scared at the prospect of surgery and so went away to her village without undergoing the operation."