The Denver News is reporting that a Colorado Springs family has become a part of medical history. All because a small foot was found growing inside the brain of their newborn’s brain.
Dr. Paul Grabb, a pediatric brain surgeon said he discovered a small appendage which turned out to be a foot growing inside the brain of 3 day old Sam Esquibel. This is definitely one of the strangest cases in medical history; the small foot was threatening the life of the newborn.
Surgery was performed on little Sam by Dr. Grabb that ultimately saved the life of the child. The operation to remove the small foot was performed at Memorial Hospital for Children in Colorado Springs.
Once Dr. Grabb began the delicate procedure, he made another discovery: finding an additional developing foot along with a hand and thigh growing inside the infant’s brain.
"I've never seen anything like it before," Grabb told the Colorado Springs Gazette. "It looked like the breach delivery of a baby coming out of the brain."
On the day Sam Esquibel was delivered, Oct. 1, doctors viewed an ultrasound that showed what looked like a tumor growing in the brain of the fetus. Dr. Grabb performed surgery to remove the tumor three days later. This is when it was discovered that what was originally thought to be a tumor was indeed a small foot growing from the brain of the newborn.
A spokesperson for the hospital, Erin Emery, confirmed the details of the astounding medical story that occurred on October 3. It is unknown the reasons behind the abnormal growth of the small foot in the child’s’ brain. However, a condition known as a congenital brain tumor or teratoma may be the cause. A teratoma is made up of foreign tissue like muscle, hair or teeth. Normally these types of tumors don’t grow into a small foot.
Another explanation could be a fetus in fetu, this is a developmental abnormality that allows a fetal twin to begin formation within the other. Dr. Grabb told the newspaper that only sees teratoma cases once every few years, but nothing like a fully developed foot.
"You show those pictures to the most experienced pediatric neurosurgeons in the world, and they've never seen anything like it," Grabb told the Gazette.
The baby is doing fine after the removal of the small foot that was lodged in his brain. Doctors say he is alert and has a barely visible inch long scar stretching from his hairline to the top of his cheek. Sam is undergoing a form of rehabilitation to strengthen the weakness on one side of his body, as well as to correct the trouble the infant has with higher level eye abilities.
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