In rare Fetus in fetu case, man from Nagpur was 'pregnant' with his twin for 36 years

Sanju Bhagat, born in Nagpur in 1963 is often referred to as the 'pregnant man' because of his huge bulging stomach which had been a big part of his life. His huge belly would often make him stand out in his little community. But what is truly shocking was the fact that he actually has his own twin sibling living inside him for over 36 years.

When he was young boy, he didn't show any signs of having any medical abnormalities, despite having a prominent stomach. But the growth in his stomach grew rapidly when he was in 20s.

Over the years, he ignored the growth till one day it grew to the extent that it made it difficult for him to breathe. At this point, he was struggling to even get by and work on his farm which made feeding his family extremely hard.

Obviously, this was particularly weird seeing as his body barely had enough food to stay nourished, let alone for him to be putting on weight.

He was then rushed to a hospital in Mumbai in 1999. Doctors initially believed the growth to be a tumor. But when doctors operated on him, they discovered another human being inside him. Unbelievably, little by little, they pulled out limbs, hair and other bits of human anatomy.

The doctor said in a interview, “We were horrified. We were confused and amazed…To my surprise and horror, I could shake hands with somebody inside. It was a bit shocking for me.”

Bhagat's case has been described as a rare medical condition, Fetus in Fetu, or also popularly known as the 'vanishing twin syndrome'.

In this case, Bhagat's twin was reabsorbed by him, leading to one twin being literally born inside the other.

Basically, the inside twin lives like a parasite but usually, the ‘host’ twin would realise something was happening – not ignoring it like Bhagat.

Sanju Bhagat reportedly 'refused to look at' the ‘lump of hair and flesh' twin that was removed from him and is now back to trying to live a normal life. Now he is reportedly back to working every day but his neighbors still remember his as the 'pregnant man'.

Moreover in Fetus in fetu cases, one or both twins die prior to birth due to the strain it place on the shared placenta. But what is even more amazing in this case, was that not only did the host twin survive and was delivered but that the parasitic twin continued to 'live' inside the other and die shortly after the final surgery.

For Sanju Bhagat, his condition might have been a medical miracle for doctors, but for him it was a source of shame and misery, as the people who lived near him continued to tease him mercilessly.