10 Unusual & Unbelievable Medical Baby Conditions

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1. Anecephaly (Baby Frog).

Anencephaly is a cephalic disorder that results from a neural tube defect that occurs when the cephalic (head) end of the neural tube fails to close, usually between the 23rd and 26th day of pregnancy, resulting in the absence of a major portion of the brain, skull, and scalp. Strictly speaking, the translation of the Greek term to English is "no brain" (that is, totally lacking), but it is accepted that children

with this disorder are born without aforebrain, the largest part of the brain consisting mainly of the cerebral hemispheres, including the neocortex, which is responsible for higher-level cognition. The remaining brain tissue is often exposed, i.e. not covered by bone or skin. With very few exceptions, most babies with this genetic disorder do not survive birth.The cause of anencephaly is disputed. Generally, neural tube defects do not follow direct patterns of heredity, though there is some indirect evidence of inheritance, and recent animal models indicate a possible association with deficiencies of the transcription factor TEAD2. Studies show that a woman who has had one child with a neural tube defect such as anencephaly has about a 3% risk of having another child with a neural tube defect, as opposed to the background rate of 0.1% occurrence in the population at large.
In this case in 2006, this bizarre-looking baby was born in Charikot, the headquarters of Dolakha district,

 attracting a huge number of onlookers to witness the astonishing sight. The neck-less baby with its head
almost totally sunk into the upper part of the body and with extraordinarily large eyeballs literally popping out of the eye-sockets, was born to Nir Bahadur Karki and Suntali Karki at the Gaurishnkar Hospital in Charikot.

2. Harlequin-type ichthyosis or Harlequin baby syndrome (Tiger Stripped Baby).

Harlequin ichthyosis is a severe genetic disorder that mainly affects the skin. Infants with this condition are born with very hard, thick skin covering most of their bodies. The skin forms large, diamond-shaped plates that are separated by deep cracks (fissures). These skin abnormalities affect the shape of the eyelids, nose, mouth, and ears, and limit movement of the arms and legs. Restricted movement of the chest can lead to
breathing difficulties and respiratory failure. The skin normally forms a protective barrier between the body and its surrounding environment. The skin abnormalities associated with harlequin ichthyosis disrupt this

barrier, making it more difficult for affected infants to control water loss, regulate their body temperature, and fight infections. Infants with harlequin ichthyosis often experience an excessive loss of fluids (dehydration) and develop life-threatening infections in the first few weeks of life. It used to be very rare for affected infants to survive the newborn period. However, with intensive medical support and improved treatment, people with this disorder now have a better chance of living into childhood and adolescence. Harlequin ichthyosis is very rare; its exact incidence is unknown. Mutations in the ABCA12 gene cause harlequin ichthyosis. The ABCA12 gene provides instructions for making a protein that is essential for the normal development of skin cells. This protein plays a major role in the transport of fats (lipids) in the outermost layer of skin (the epidermis). Some mutations in the ABCA12 gene prevent the cell from making any ABCA12 protein. Other mutations lead to the production of an abnormally small version of the protein that cannot transport lipids properly. A loss of functional ABCA12 protein disrupts the normal development of the epidermis, resulting in the hard, thick scales characteristic of harlequin ichthyosis.

A weird baby is born in Gilgit, Pakistan, this March’ 2010. The baby had a skin disorder whose first case was registered back in 1700s. The baby was kept in ICU after his birth because of his weak and dreadful condition and the parents of the baby have been declared healthy. Soon after the birth of the alien baby, the huge mass of people gathered at the hospital to see the strange child and which astonished the people. Baby had red stripes all over his body exactly like a tiger and had blood red eyes similar to aliens from a sci-fi ALIEN based movie. According to the doctor, there are only 10 percent chances that the baby would survive as the skin disease he is diagnosed with (Harlequin-type ichthyosis) makes him more sensitive towards bacteria to enter his body. This kind of disease is very rare and not been reported since 1700 but now it has captured the interest of people and astounded them to a great extent.(left image).

3. Craniopagus Parasiticusin (Two Headed Twin Baby).

Craniopagus parasiticus is a medical condition in which a parasitic twin head with an undeveloped (or underdeveloped) body is attached to the head of a developed twin. In a condition known as Craniopagus Parasiticus a second parasitic head has developed attached to the host head. This is an extremely rare

condition and only about 10 cases have ever been recorded. Of these, only three have been born alive. An extremely rare case of parasitic head protruding from the right side of the face is presented. It differs from all the other cases previously reported in the literature. The patient had a parasitic head with an abnormal brain, two eyebrows, two underdeveloped eyes, nose, mouth, 12 teeth, a tongue and plenty of hair. The parasitic head was excised. The nature of the embryological abnormalities is discussed and the literature of polygnathism reviewed.
The nurse holds an Egyptian baby named Manar Maged in a hospital in the city of Banha, north of Cairo. Maged was in a serious but improving condition after the procedure to treat her for craniopagus parasiticus a

problem related to that of conjoined twins linked at the skull. Craniopagus parasiticus is a medical condition in which a parasitic twin head with an undeveloped (or underdeveloped) body is attached to the head of a developed twin. There have only been ten documented cases of this phenomenon, though to-date there have been at least eighty separate cases of this phenomenon written about in various records. Only three ever have been documented by modern medicine to have survived birth.

 4.  Hypertrichosis or Ambras syndrome (Werewolf Baby).

 Hypertrichosis (also called Ambras syndrome) is an abnormal amount of hair growth on the body; extensive cases of hypertrichosis have informally been called werewolf syndrome. The two distinct types of hypertrichosis are generalized hypertrichosis, which occurs over the entire body, and localized hypertrichosis, which is restricted to a certain area. Hypertrichosis can be either congenital (present at birth) or acquired later in life. The excess growth of hair occurs in areas of the skin with the exception of androgen-dependent hair of

 the pubic area, face, and axillary regions.Hypertrichosis was first described by Baumeister et al. in 1993 in an attempt to clarify and further sub-classify the hypertrichosis terminology. Currently, congenital hypertrichosis (CH) is described with multiple terms that are frequently used interchangeably. For example, terminology has included hypertrichosis universalis, hypertrichosis lanuginosa, congenital hypertrhicosis lanuginosa, and hypertrichosis universalis lanuginosa. The rarity of CH has made it even more difficult to elucidate the possible sub-classifications that may exist. Current literature attempts to rectify this confusion by detailed analysis of the potential clinical and diagnostic spectrum that may be present within CH. The importance of organizing and regularly reappraising the hypertrichosis literature is underscored as new hypertrichosis entities are described. In this brief review, we hope to provide a detailed review on the concepts of the AS and further encourage analysis and examination of CH as a spectrum of pathologies.

5.Diprosopus or Craniofacial Duplication (Two Face Baby).

Diprosopus is an extremely rare congenital disorder whereby parts or all of the face is duplicated on the head.

Diprosopus often occurs in combination with other congenital disorders, particularly anencephaly, neural tube defect and cardiac malformations.When present, the brain may show abnormalities ranging from partial to complete duplication of brain structures, and/or underdevelopment of brain tissues.

In 2008, a baby girl born in India, Lali Singh, became the most recently known person to have the condition diprosopus. She was born March 10, 2008 in Sanai Sampūra village near Delhi; the birth was delayed by dystocia caused by her large head, and she was born in a hospital with an episiotomy. She was one of the very few infants with diprosopus to survive well past birth. She may have been the only known living individual with complete facial duplication. Her facial features included two pairs of eyes, two noses, and two mouths (but only one pair of ears). Lali Singh, daughter of Sushma and Vinod Singh, lived in the Indian village of Saini Sunpura. There, she was seen as the reincarnation of the goddess Durga, who has three eyes. It was also thought that Lali was an incarnation of the Hindu god Ganesh. As of April 2008, Sushma and Vinod Singh had declined an offer from local doctors to evaluate their daughter through CT or MRI scanning. Without diagnostic imaging, it was not possible to know the full extent to which the child's condition might have affected her brain and other vital structures in her head and neck. Thus, any estimation of her ability to survive or even thrive could only be speculative, though Lali's family described her as functioning normally. It is also unknown whether neurosurgeons or craniofacial surgeons, if consulted, would have had feasible solutions to offer with respect to corrective surgery. A local doctor told reporters that the baby should be considered a healthy child who currently was living a normal life, a previously unknown occurrence among
sufferers of the disorder. Lali's two middle eyes suffered from corneal opacity due to abnormal anatomy of the facial muscles, which prevented her from properly closing those eyes. (Before, it was wrongly blamed on camera flashes.) Cleft palate caused difficulty feeding her under village conditions. A poor diet of bottle-fed

 sugar solution and diluted milk, allowed to drip down her throat as she could not suck properly because of the cleft palate, weakened her condition, and vomiting and infection started. Admission to hospital was delayed by discussion (including taking her back home from hospital) among her extended family and her village's headman. Finally, her parents alarmed at her illness and dehydration, defied her other relatives and took her back to hospital, where under proper medical treatment including antibiotic and a saline drip she started to improve, stopped vomiting, started drinking milk and defecating normally; but 6 hours later, at two months old to the day, she died of a heart attack. She was buried in her village, as is usual in Hinduism with children who die very young. Later a temple was built at the village in her memory.

6. Ectopia Cordis (Outside Heart Baby).

Ectopia cordis (Latin: "outside/away" + "heart") is a congenital malformation in which the heart is abnormally located either partially or totally outside of the thorax. The ectopic heart can be found along a spectrum of anatomical locations, including the neck, chest, or abdomen. In most cases, the heart protrudes outside the chest through a split sternum. Ectopia cordis results from a failure of proper maturation of midlinemesoderm and ventral body wall formation during embryonic development. The exact etiology remains unknown, but abnormalities in the lateral body wall folds are believed to be involved. Normally, the lateral body walls are responsible for fusion at the midline to form the ventral wall. Corruption of this process may underlie ectopia

 cordis. Defective ventral body wall formation yields a heart unprotected by the pericardium, sternum, or skin. Other organs may also have formed outside the skin, as well. Many cases of ectopia cordis have associated [congenital heart defects], in which the heart itself has failed to properly form. Cantrell's pentalogy with ectopia cordis is an extremely rare and lethal congenital anomaly, with a reported incidence of 1:100000 births in developed countries. We report a neonate who presented with ectopia cordis along with cleft lower sternum, upper abdominal wall defect, ectopic umbilicus, diaphragmatic defect, and interventricular septal defect. The neonate had respiratory distress with peripheral cyanosis and died because of acidosis and electrolyte imbalance before surgical intervention could be undertaken. We discuss the case and present a brief review of literature and of embryogenesis. Of all congenital anomalies, ectopia cordis, i.e., the presence of a live, beating heart outside the thorax, is perhaps the most distressing; it gives a grotesque appearance to neonate. This condition is extremely rare and is usually associated with Cantrell's pentalogy or a variant of Cantrell's pentalogy with sternal defect.We discuss a case of ectopia cordis associated with Cantrell's pentalogy and present a brief review of the literature. We report this case because of its rarity.

7.Cyclopia (One Eyed Baby).

Cyclopia (also cyclocephaly or synophthalmia) is a rare form of holoprosencephaly and is a congenital disorder (birth defect) characterized by the failure of the embryonic prosencephalon to properly divide the orbits of the eye into two cavities. Its incidence is 1 in 16,000 in born animals, and 1 in 250 in embryos, one in 2,500 that end in miscarriage. Typically, the face is either missing or replaced with a non-functioning nose in the form of a proboscis. Such a proboscis generally appears above the central eye, or on the back, and is characteristic of a form of cyclopia called rhinencephaly or rhinocephaly. Most such embryos are either naturally aborted or are stillborn upon delivery/ hatching. Although cyclopia is rare, several cyclopic human babies are preserved in medical museums (e.g. The Vrolik Museum, Amsterdam). Some extreme cases of
cyclopia have been documented in inbred farm animals (horses, sheep, pigs, and sometimes chickens). In such cases, the nose and mouth fail to form, or the nose grows from the roof of the mouth obstructing airflow, resulting in suffocation shortly after birth. Genetic problems or toxins can cause problems in the embryonic forebrain-dividing process.[5] One highly teratogenic alkaloid toxin that can cause cyclopia is cyclopamine or 2-deoxyjervine, found in the plant Veratrum californicum (also known as corn lily or false hellebore). The mistake of ingesting Veratrum californicum while pregnant is often because hellebore, a plant with which it is easily confused, is recommended as a natural treatment for vomiting, cramps, and poor circulation, three conditions that are quite common in pregnant women. Cyclopia can occur in the womb when certain proteins are inappropriately expressed and causes the brain to stay whole instead of forming into two distinct hemispheres, which also means one optic lobe and one olfactory lobe resulting in one eye. Shh (Sonic Hedgehog Gene Regulator, named after the effects a mutation in the gene had on the forming embryo of fruit flies studied by scientists; a spiky appearance under a microscope, similar to that of its video game character namesake) is involved in the separation of the single eye field into two bilateral fields. Although not proven, it is thought that shh emitted from the prechordal plate suppresses Pax6 which causes the eye field to divide into two. If the shh gene is mutated, the result is cyclopia, a single eye in the center of the face (Gilbert, 2000).

8. Polymelia (Baby with multiple Limbs).

Polymelia (from Greek πολυ- = "many" plus μέλος (plural μέλεα) = "limb") is a birth defect involving limbs (a type of dysmelia), in which the affected individual has more than the usual number of limbs. In humans and most land-dwelling animals, this means having five or more limbs. The extra limb is most commonly shrunken and/or deformed. Sometimes an embryo started as conjoined twins, but one twin degenerated completely except for one or more limbs, which end up attached to the other twin. Sometimes small extra legs between the normal legs are caused by the body axis forking in the dipygus condition. Doctors at Pakistan's National Institue of Child Health say that a six-legged infant born earlier this month is alive and recovering well, after surgeons removed the baby's extra limbs in an eight-hour surgery last Thursday. It's almost hard to believe that the child, who appears otherwise normal in the post-surgery photograph featured up top, was actually born with polymelia — a rare birth defect that Jamal Raza, head of the NICH, said affects fewer than one in a million babies. Raza speculates the baby (whose parents have named him Umar) initially developed as

conjoined twins, but that the second twin degenerated in the womb, leaving the extra limbs attached to its sibling. But what's interesting is that for as rare as polymelia is, the development of four extra limbs (as opposed to one, or even two) is especially uncommon. One can't help but wonder if two of Umar's extra "legs" weren't, in fact, underdeveloped arms — a deformity that is known to occur in a class of conjoined twins known as Ischiopagus Tetrapus. In any case, we wish the baby and his parents a speedy and smooth recovery. A baby girl has been born with three arms in India due to a rare condition that only affects one in a million infants. The newborn, who is just four days old, has two arms in the correct place but she also a has a

 third arm joined to her back near the spinal cord. Her father Waqar Ahmed, from the Taunsa Sharif sub-division of Dera Ghazi Khan, took his daughter to hospital after she was born on Monday. She was then transferred to Nishtar Hospital where staff are consulting experts about the possibility of operating on the third arm. Dr Ghulam Shabbir said the baby girl suffers from a rare condition called Polymelia, which causes a person to be born with extra limbs, often arms or legs. Dr Shabbir told The Express Tribune that an amputation of the extra limb would be the first operation of its kind at the hospital. The girl's birth comes soon after a baby boy Umar Farooq was born in Sukkur in Pakistan with six legs earlier this month. The rare disorder occurs in the womb when the cells form abnormally during embryonic development. The embryo begins to develop as conjoined twins but stops, leaving the remaining developments of the undeveloped twin attached to the body of the other.

9. Mermaid Syndrome (Mermaid Baby).

Sirenomelia, alternatively known as Mermaid Syndrome, is a very rare congenital deformity in which the legs are fused together, giving them the appearance of a mermaid's tail. This condition is found in approximately one out of every 100,000 live births (about as rare as conjoined twins) and is usually fatal within a day or two of birth because of complications associated with abnormal kidney and urinary bladder development and function. More than half the cases of sirenomelia result in stillbirth and this condition is 100 times more likely to occur in identical twins than in single births or fraternal twins. It results from a failure of normal vascular supply from the lower aorta in utero.[citation needed] Maternal diabetes has been associated with caudal regression syndrome and sirenomelia, although a few sources question this association. VACTERL-H is an expanded form of the VACTERL association that concludes that this diagnosis is a less severe form of sirenomelia. The disorder was formerly thought to be an extreme case of caudal regression syndrome; however, it was reclassified to be considered a separate condition. Only a handful of patients who did not have the usual kidney and bladder complications have survived beyond birth with this condition, 3 of them being:
* Milagros Cerrón Arauco was born on April 27, 2004, in Huancayo, Peru. Although most of Milagros’ internal organs, including her heart and lungs, are in perfect condition, she was born with serious internal defects, including a deformed left kidney and a very small right one located very low in her body. In addition, her digestive, urinary tracts and genitals share a single tube. This birth defect occurs during the gastrulation week (week 3) of embryological development. Gastrulation establishes the three germ layers: ectoderm,

mesoderm and endoderm. It seems that complications such as defects in the urogenital system as mentioned above can be possibly due to malformations in the intermediate mesoderm. A four-hour operation to insert silicone bags between her legs to stretch the skin was successfully completed on February 8, 2005. A successful operation to separate her legs to just above the knee took place May 31, 2005, in a "Solidarity Hospital" in the district of Surquillo in Lima. The procedure, however, was so intensive that she became traumatized to the degree of losing her ability to form proper speech patterns, leaving her nearly mute. It is not yet known if this is a physiological or psychological condition. However, at Milagros' second birthday, her mother reported that she knew more than 50 words. A second operation to complete the separation up to the groin took place on September 7, 2006. A few weeks later, she took her first steps. Her doctor Luis Rubio said he was pleased with the progress Milagros had made, but cautioned that she still needed 10 to 15 years of rehabilitation and more operations before she could lead a normal life. Particularly, she will require reconstructive surgery to rebuild her rudimentary anus, urethra and genitalia. Milagros' parents are from a poor village in Peru's Andes Mountains; the Solidarity Hospital has given a job to her father Ricardo Cerrón so that the family can remain in Lima, while the City of Lima has pledged to pay for many of the operations.

* Tiffany Yorks of the United States (born May 7, 1988) underwent successful surgery in order to separate her legs before she was one year old. She is the longest-surviving sirenomelia patient to date. She still has
problems getting around since her leg bones are very fragile. She compensates by using crutches or a wheelchair if she sustains a bad fracture. Tiffany Yorks was born with her legs fused so that they resembled the mermaids of folk lore. Tiffany was also born with a heart defect and ailing kidneys. The one thing she had was healthy lungs. She was transferred to the shriners hospital where she had two surgeries on her legs. In order to make skin for her legs once they were seperated, they used a technique using balloons placed under the skin and filled with saline solution. When the balloon stretched her skin stretched. This gave the team aditional skin to work with. 1 Tiffany's medical care was provided free at the Shriners Hospital, and this was many hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of surgery. She has also had surgery on her heart and urinary tract.

* Shiloh Jade Pepin (August 4, 1999 - October 23, 2009) was born in Kennebunkport, Maine, United States on August 4, 1999, with her lower extremities fused, no bladder, no uterus, no rectum, only 6 inches of large colon, no vagina, and with only one quarter of a kidney and one ovary. Her parents initially anticipated

 she could expect only a few months of life. Her natural kidney failed when she was just 3 months old. After that she was on dialysis. A kidney transplant at age 2 lasted a number of years, and in 2007 a second kidney transplant was successful. She attended Consolidated Elementary School. Shiloh was the only one of the three survivors of sirenomelia without surgery for separation of the conjoined legs. She died fighting a serious case of pneumonia on October 23, 2009, at Maine Medical Center in Portland, Maine, at the age of 10. Shiloh gained a following of admirers by documenting her condition on TV, Facebook and the Internet.

10. Atavism (Baby with Tail).

 Atavism is the tendency to revert to ancestral type. In biology, an atavism is an evolutionary throwback, such as traits reappearing which had disappeared generations before. Atavisms can occur in several ways. One way is when genes for previously existing phenotypical features are preserved in DNA, and these become expressed through a mutation that either knock out the overriding genes for the new traits or make the old traits override the new one. A number of traits can vary as a result of shortening of the fetal development of a trait (neoteny) or by prolongation of the same. In such a case, a shift in the time a trait is allowed to develop before it is fixed can bring forth an ancestral phenotype. In the social sciences, atavism is a cultural tendency—for example, people in the modern era reverting to the ways of thinking and acting of a former time. The word atavism is derived from the Latin atavus. An atavus is a great-great-great-grandfather or,

 more generally, an ancestor. Atavisms have been observed in humans as well. Babies have been born with a vestigial tail, called "coccygeal process", "coccygeal projection", and "caudal appendage". It can also be evidenced in humans who possess large teeth, like those of other primates. In addition, a case of "Snake Heart", the presence of "coronary circulation and myocardial architecture [which resemble] those of the reptilian heart", has also been reported in medical literature.

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