15cm Human Tail Removed from Baby in Rare Surgery: Fewer Than 50 Cases Ever Documented

Representational image of the human tail medical case.Photo byETV Bharat.

In a recent medical achievement, doctors in India performed a highly uncommon surgery, removing a 15cm tail from a three-month-old baby boy from the state of Telangana. This rare condition, where a human infant is born with a tail-like structure, has only been documented around 40 times globally, making this case particularly remarkable.

Why Early Surgery Was Crucial

The procedure occurred at AIIMS Bibinagar Hospital and was led by Dr. Shasanka Shekhar Panda, head of pediatric surgery. The surgical intervention was necessary to prevent potential complications that could impact the child's future health.

“Since there is a risk of the tail damaging the spinal cord, affecting mobility as well as urine and bowel functions, it is recommended that surgery be performed early on,” Dr. Panda explained.

He further described the meticulous procedure, which involved reconstructing the child's spinal canal and addressing an associated condition called spina bifida. Spina bifida is a congenital disorder where the spine and spinal cord do not fully develop during pregnancy.

Surgery and Postoperative Success

“After removing it, we reconstructed the child’s spinal canal. There was spina bifida connected with the spinal cord, which was dissected meticulously with repair of the dura,” Dr. Panda added.

The dura refers to the outermost membrane surrounding the spinal cord, and repairing it was crucial for the success of the surgery.

Thankfully, the baby’s recovery was smooth, with no neurological issues or visible complications at the six-month follow-up. Dr. Panda described the outcome as highly successful, noting that the patient now has good wound healing and no further concerns related to mobility or bodily functions.

A Rare Phenomenon in Medicine

This rare surgery adds to the limited but fascinating number of similar cases worldwide. In 2022, neurosurgeons in Odisha, India, operated on a two-month-old infant to remove a bony tail—another rare type of tail that had formed in the thoracic (upper back) region. As noted by Dr. Rama Chandra Deo, this particular case was unique as there are only 26 known instances of bony human tails worldwide.

Human Tails: A Remnant of Embryonic Development

Human tails, while intriguing, are remnants of early embryonic development. In most people, any tail-like structure is reabsorbed before birth.

But in extremely rare cases, the tail persists, leading to the need for medical intervention. Other examples include a 2023 case in Brazil, where doctors surgically removed a 6cm tail from an infant. This case was published in the Journal of Pediatric Surgery Case Reports, further underscoring how exceptional such surgeries are.

Pseudo-tail in a 6-month-old patient with a 6 cm soft tissue appendage growing up from the lumbosacral region in Brazil.Photo byJournal of Pediatric Surgery Case Reports, 2023.

A Successful Medical Milestone

The successful operation at AIIMS Bibinagar adds to the growing body of medical literature surrounding these rare conditions. It demonstrates both the medical advances and the expertise of surgeons in handling such delicate and unusual cases, offering hope for the safe treatment of similarly rare conditions in the future.