Chilean grandma, 92, discovered bearing mummified fetus
SANTIAGO—Routine testing revealed a Chilean 92-year-old grandmother has been bearing a large mummified fetus for at least 50 years, medical sources said Friday.
The fetus weighing nearly two kilos (four pounds) was discovered after the nonagenarian was rushed to a hospital after suffering a fall.
A hip X-ray showed the fetus, which was about seven months developed, but it did not cause the woman any pain.
The rare condition is known as lithopedion and occurs when a fetus dies during pregnancy and then calcifies outside the uterus.
Only several hundred cases have been noted in medical history and it is not unusual for the condition to be undiagnosed for decades.
The Chilean woman returned home a few hours after being checked out, without an operation.
