He was mocked as 'pregnant' for years, but the surgery revealed a shocking truth
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Neighbours always joked about 36-year-old Sanju Bhagat's large abdomen, asking if he was "pregnant."
But what they didn't know was that they weren't far from the shocking truth鈥攕omething no one could have ever imagined.
A Life of Embarrassment
There are some stories so bizarre that you have to pause and ask yourself: Can this really be true? That's exactly what happened when the case of Sanju Bhagat, a 36-year-old farmer from Nagpur, India, was revealed in 2006.
For decades, Bhagat lived with an abdomen so large it made him look nine months pregnant. He struggled to breathe and always felt uncomfortable, enduring relentless teasing from neighbours who joked about his "pregnancy."
Living with such an unusually large belly was, of course, an immense social burden for him.
But in June 1999, what had been a lifetime of embarrassment suddenly became life-threatening. Bhagat was rushed to Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai, where doctors initially suspected he had a massive tumor pressing against his diaphragm.
"To My Surprise and Horror..."
"Due to the sheer size of the tumor, it made surgery difficult. We expected a lot of problems," explained Dr. Ajay Mehta, the surgeon who operated on him.
But what unfolded in the operating room stunned everyone.
As Mehta began the operation, gallons of fluid poured out. And then something else, something no one could have anticipated.
"To my surprise and horror, I could shake hands with somebody inside," Dr. Ajay Mehta said. "It was a bit shocking for me."
Other medical staff described the scene with astonishment: limbs, hair, jaws, and even parts of genitalia emerged as they carefully explored Bhagat's abdomen.
Inside Bhagat was a partially formed human being. Upon further examination, doctors confirmed what no one had suspected: Bhagat had lived with his entrapped twin brother inside him his entire life.
The condition, known as Fetus in Fetu (or "fetus within a fetus"), is one of the rarest medical anomalies in the world, with fewer than 90 cases ever documented.
Fetus in Fetu occurs early in twin pregnancies when one fetus envelops the other. The "host" twin grows normally, while the trapped twin survives by utilizing its sibling's blood supply.
While Fetus in Fetu is technically "alive" in the sense that its tissues are still living and functioning like normal cells, it cannot survive as a normal fetus.
Without proper support from a uterus, placenta, and amniotic sac, it cannot fully develop. Typically, neither twin survives to birth, making Bhagat's survival for 36 years nothing short of astonishing.
Bhagat himself never wanted to see what was removed.
"He didn't want to see it because it looked horrible," Mehta said.
A Sad Post-Surgery Update
Fortunately, the surgery immediately ended Bhagat's pain and breathing difficulties.
Doctors hailed the case as a true medical miracle, and Bhagat's story continues to astound the world. As noted, Fetus in Fetu is an extremely rare condition, occurring in about 1 in 500,000 births, according to a report published in the Medical Journal of Australia.
At the time the story went public, Bhagat was reported to be healthy and living a normal life. But the teasing from neighbors didn't entirely stop鈥攁nd of course, that must have been painful to hear.
"They still make fun of him. What they say is, you went for surgery and you gave birth to the baby," Mehta stated.
In my opinion, Bhagat should be celebrated for surviving such a rare medical miracle and for coping with this condition with incredible strength for so many years.
Since 2006, there have been few updates on Bhagat's life, but reports say he was born in 1963, making him 62 years old today.
We can only hope he is alive and well!
Do not hesitate to share this amazing story with your friends so they can be inspired and learn something new today鈥攁fter all, expanding your knowledge is never a bad thing.
