Sam Esquibel had only three days since he had been born when doctors operated him on a brain tumor. But surprisingly, the surgeons didn’t find a tumor, but a tiny foot which was growing in his head. Yet, after the infant had been diagnosed with an MRI scan, the radiography showed that inside his brain there was a microscopic tumor.

When doctors started to operate and tried to remove what was thought to be a tumor, they had found a tiny foot and the partial formation of another foot, a hand and a thigh. Researchers stated that this might be the case of “foetus in foetu,” which means that a twin begins to grow inside his brother.

In spite of the shocking findings, the team at Memorial Hospital for Children in Colorado Springs stated that these kinds of cases occur very rarely inside the brain. In addition, they didn’t eliminate the diagnose of a type of congenital brain tumor but added that growths like foot or hand are too complex to be a tumor.

Yet, Dr Paul Grabb, a paediatric neurosurgeon, stated that Sam looked to be very healthy when he had undergone the procedure in October. He added that what they had thought to be a tumor “looked like the breech delivery of a baby, coming out of the brain."

Tiffnie and Manuel Esquibel, the parents of Sam, announced that the boy is at home but he still has to undergo blood tests every month to be checked for cancer. The little boy also has to attend physical therapy as to improve the use of his neck, but he is apparently recovering very well.

Mr Dominic Thompson, a consultant paediatric neurosurgeon at London's Great Ormond Street Hospital, stated that there are not even 100 such cases in the medical literature. He even pointed out the possibility of a tumor called teratoma, which can consist of tissue such as muscle and fat. This tumor might sometimes contain bone or teeth.