A baby girl born in Brazil shocked the doctors when they noticed a six-centimeter mass protruding from her back. The case about the medical anomaly has been published in the Journal of Pediatric Surgery Case Reports.
According to the study, spina bifida, a birth abnormality brought on by an improperly developing baby's spinal cord, was present in the girl at birth. The condition caused a gap to form in her spine, likely resulting in the growth of the tail. The skin-covered appendage growing on her back was quickly removed by surgeons during a surgery.
According to the case study's authors, the mother had no prior history of drug use or sickness, and the child was delivered through caesarean at term. Doctors looked at the child and discovered a soft tissue tail forming in the region where the spine and pelvis meet. "The physical examination found a 6 cm skin-covered soft tissue tail growing up from the lumbosacral region," the authors mentioned in the study.
The baby underwent an MRI, which showed a local dermal sinus, a multi-layered tissue channel and a small breach in her spine with a fibrous cable. "There was no tethered cord. With the finding of a spinal dysraphism, the case was diagnosed as a human pseudo-tail," they stated.
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The newborn developed a cerebrospinal fluid leak post the surgery, which was identified by the presence of a wet surgical site and partial opening of the suture. She was kept in a lateral position while receiving intravenous antibiotic medication and her incision was kept clean and dry.
The child is now three years old and the procedure had no lasting impact on her. The authors mentioned, "The patient is currently 3 years old and undergoing a close long-term follow-up. During this period, she had three episodes of urinary tract infection that were successfully treated with antibiotics."
She is now able to walk with no complications from the surgery.
