The XO Directory

A Chinese girl who has lived with body parts of a parasitic twin growing out of her back for 11 years is to finally have an operation to remove them.

Yin Xin, of Changzhi town, Shanxi province, was born with an undeveloped foetus growing from her back.

It protruding chest and arm has grown in size along with Yin's own body. At age 11, it is now so big that it is damaging her health.

Her parents, who have saved up for the operation since her birth, say they now have enough money for the surgery to go ahead.

"All that could be seen of it at first was its arm," her mother said. "But now it is taking on more and more of a human shape, an arm and chest and even the backside can also be seen."

Yin is currently undergoing tests at the Armed Police General Hospital, where doctors plan to remove the twin in several stages of surgery.

"The abnormality is causing her many problems," a spokesman said. "She is 11 years old, but only three foot eight inches tall, and her shoulders and back have been deformed by the extra body parts.

"But we are confident that the operation will be a success and she will be able to have a relatively normal life after that."

Chinese media has quoted doctors as saying that there had been fewer than 20 such cases reported around the country. Source