Surgeons removed the growth from Sam Esquibel’s head days after his birth in October, and the three-month-old boy is now said to be fit and healthy.
New photos of the operation show the blood vessels inside the tumour, which also included other partially-formed body parts including a second foot, a hand and a thigh.
Doctors now believe that the condition was probably a teratoma, a type of tumour that contains hair, teeth, bones and body organs but usually does not occur in the brain.
Another theory is that Sam suffered from a condition called fetus in fetu in which one twin envelops the other, but the disorder is so rare that there have been fewer than 100 reported incidents in the world.
Parents Manuel and Tiffinie Esquibel told NBC’s The Today Show that doctors were so concerned about the tumour that they were urged to get Sam baptised.
“When I went into hospital I thought, ‘OK we’re going to come out of here with a baby in our arms’,” Mrs Esquibel said.
“But we didn’t – he was in another hospital. They told us it was a 50-50 chance whether he could make it through it or not.”
She said that Sam was now doing well but his birth had turned their lives upside down. “He is a miracle. I just love him so much.”
Neurosurgeon Dr Paul Grabb, who led a team that operated on Sam’s brain at Colorado Springs Memorial Central, described the moment that he opened the tumour and the foot was revealed.
“A lot of us who have been in practice long enough like to think we’ve seen everything,” he said. “Well, we haven’t. The foot quite literally popped out of the tumour. I stopped operating, since I’m not used to seeing a foot in the brain.”
“But we didn’t – he was in another hospital. They told us it was a 50-50 chance whether he could make it through it or not.”
She said that Sam was now doing well but his birth had turned their lives upside down. “He is a miracle. I just love him so much.”
Neurosurgeon Dr Paul Grabb, who led a team that operated on Sam’s brain at Colorado Springs Memorial Central, described the moment that he opened the tumour and the foot was revealed.
“A lot of us who have been in practice long enough like to think we’ve seen everything,” he said. “Well, we haven’t. The foot quite literally popped out of the tumour. I stopped operating, since I’m not used to seeing a foot in the brain.”