Parasitic Twin Successfully Removed From 3-yr-old's Abdomen in Peru [GRAPHIC]

Doctors successfully removed a parasitic twin from a three-year-old Peruvian boy on Monday (January 30) and say the youngster will be able to live a normal life.

The complicated operation lasted just over three and a half hours.

After complaining of stomach pains doctors discovered an abnormal growth in Isbac Pacundas' abdomen.

They soon realized the growth was the young boy's twin which died as a zygote and was absorbed by Pacundas' developing body.

The painstaking surgery resulted in the extraction of a 25 centimetre (10-inch) fetus complete with a humerus, a femur, a backbone but no heart, lungs or brain.

The so-called parasitic foetus weighed 1.2 kilograms (2.6 pounds), and doctors said it was comparable to a foetus at four or five months into a pregnancy.

The parasitic twin survived by a connection to Pacundas' blood supply at the right kidney and liver.

"It was a very difficult operation. The liver and a kidney were really attached and connected with the circulatory system, and every organ I mention connected with this foetus. This is what kept it alive, the passing of blood," a member of the surgical team, Doctor Antonio Flores said. 

The condition is said to occur in around 1 in 500,000 births.

Isbac is expected to remain in the hospital in Chiclayo, Peru, 770 kilometres (478 miles) north of Lima, under observation for 10 days, but doctors say they are confident he will live a normal healthy life.