Ranchi (PTI): In a rare case, as many as eight fetuses were found in the abdomen of a 21-day-old baby during an operation in a private hospital here, doctors said.

The size of the fetuses range from three centimetres to five centimetres and they were settled inside a cyst in the abdomen, Dr Md Imran, who performed the surgery, told PTI.

In medical terms, it is called fetus-in-fetu (FIF), a rare entity in which one malformed vertebrate fetus is enclosed within the body of its twin, according to a journal of National Library of Medicine.

"As per the papers and journals available so far, one fetus was reported in most of the FIF cases. Case of eight fetuses has not been reported from anywhere yet," Dr Imran claimed. He added that FIF is very rare and it occurs in one in five lakh live births.

The baby was born on October 10 in a government hospital in Jharkhand's Ramgarh district. The doctors found a lump in the abdomen and suggested to the parents to operate it immediately, as it might cause problems in the stomach.

"The baby was admitted to the hospital when she turned 21 days. In initial diagnosis, a cyst or tumour-like substance was found. It was located below the diaphragm. We decided to remove it through operation and it was performed on November 1. Then, we discovered eight fetuses one after another inside the part," he said.

The operation was successful and the baby's condition is normal right now. The baby has been kept under observation and she will be discharged in a week, he said.

The head of Rani hospital, Ranchi, Rajesh Singh told PTI, "Since it is a rare case, we are preparing it to be published in international journals."

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New Delhi, Oct 24: The sports ministry on Thursday announced the discontinuation of the Dhyan Chand Award for lifetime achievement from this year onwards and the introduction of the Arjuna Award Lifetime in its place in a bid to "rationalise" the various sporting honours of the country.

Instituted in 2002, the Dhyan Chand Lifetime Award, named after hockey wizard Major Dhyan Chand, is given to individuals in disciplines that are part of the Olympic Games, Paralympic Games, Asian Games and Commonwealth Games, among others.

In 2023, the award was given to former shuttler Manjusha Kanwar, ex-hockey exponent Vineet Kumar and kabaddi player Kavitha Selvaraj.

"The various schemes for sports awards have been rationalised wherein Arjuna Award (Lifetime) has been introduced in place of Dhyan Chand Award. To recognise the efforts of coaches at grassroots/development level, they are now eligible for the Dronacharya Award," said a ministry statement.

"The Arjuna Award (Lifetime) has been introduced and will be given for life time contribution to sports development.

"Further, to recognize the Khelo India scheme, the Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy will be given to the University for Overall Top Performance in Khelo India University Games," it added.

The last date for applying for the national sports awards for 2024 is November 14.