A baby girl was born in Brazil with a six-centimetre mass protruding from her back, in what experts described as a case of human pseudo-tail. A detailed study of the child's case was recently published in the Journal of Pediatric Surgery Case Reports.
Authors of the case study said the child was born at term through a cesarean procedure and the mother had no drug exposure or illness history. When the baby was examined, doctors found a soft tissue tail growing in the area that connects the spine and the pelvis.
The child was taken for an MRI, which revealed a small gap in her spine, with a fibrous cord and local dermal sinus -- a multi-layered tissue channel.
A surgery was done to remove the mass and the gap left behind was closed with a muscle flap.
Doctors noticed one complication after the baby's surgery -- a cerebrospinal fluid leakage. They handled it with intravenous antibiotic therapy, keeping the baby in a lateral position and ensuring her wound was clean and dry.
At present, the baby is three-years-old, with no long-term effects from the surgery.
"She is currently able to walk and did not develop constipation, neurological deficits, or further complications," case study authors said.
She only had three episodes of urinary tract infection, that were treated with antibiotics.
Tails in humans are a very rare occurrence, so far reported only among 200 people.
Human tails are classified as "true tails" and "pseudo tails".
Most humans will grow a tail in the embryonic stages. This usually disappears by eight weeks. In rare cases, it can leave remnants called true tails.
Pseudo tails, on the other hand, are caused by spinal development defects.
These conditions can result in infants and their parents being stigmatised.
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