Xiao Feng was rushed to a hospital operating room after suffering from a severely bloated stomach.
Doctors took x-rays and MRI scans and discovered that Feng was carrying the undeveloped foteus of his own twin inside his stomach.
Surgeons performed an operation so the toddler could ‘give birth’ to his own parasitic twin, which took up two thirds of his stomach, causing the youngster breathing difficulties.
The removed foetus measured 20 cm in width and had a fully formed spine and limbs, including fingers and toes.
Experts believe, if left untreated, the twin would have killed Xiao.
Dr Jonathan Fanaroff, a neonatologist at Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital in Cleveland, explained that conjoined twins are formed when the egg fails to separate, and can survive as ‘parasites’, but not if one is absorbed into the other.
This isn’t the first time this has occurred.
In 2012 a three-year-old Peruvian boy was found to be carrying his parasitic twin brother, and in 2008 a 9-year-old girl suspected of having a brain tumour turned out to be concealing the undeveloped embryo of her parasitic twin.