Baby girl born with rare six cm tail in Brazil

In a rare medical case, doctors in Brazil were left shocked after a baby girl, born with a six-centimeter tail on her back in the country. 

However, the tail was safely removed following surgery on her back and after the successful surgery, the doctors closed the hole.

The girl, who is yet to be identified, was born with a rare condition called spina bifida, which happens when the spinal cord fails to develop normally.

As per the doctors, the disability caused a gap to form in her spine which resulted in the growth of the tail.

The medics at Grendaac, a children's hospital in Sau Paulo, claimed that the tail grew upwards from the lumbosacral region, which joins the spine and the pelvis.

It was treated as a 'human pseudo-tail', a growth that looks like a tail but is a consequence of spine problems or tumours.

It is worth mentioning that the case study was published in the Journal of Pediatric Surgery Case Reports.

Researchers from the Centre for Fetal and Placental Research in Ohio collaborated with the Brazillian doctors to investigate it.

"Human caudal appendages are rare lesions that impose an enormous stigma on their carriers and parents. Fetal caudal appendages are associated with spinal dysraphisms (spina bifida), and its presence, therefore, mandates careful screening for underlying spinal cord defects. Identifying the numerous possible associated anomalies is critical to plan the correct treatment and offering good quality counselling," they wrote.

According to them, the surgery helps prevent stigma and complications such as pain, torsion, further growth, irritation, or breakdown.

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