Doctor finds embryonic twin in patient's brain
An Indiana woman woke up from brain surgery to some incredible news: What doctors through was a tumor was actually a teratoma — her embryonic twin complete with bone, hair, and teeth.
Yamini Karanam took the bombshell well, joking that the teratoma is her "evil twin sister who's been torturing me for the past 26 years." She's relieved that after months of having difficulty reading, listening, and even following a conversation, she'll soon be able to function properly again, especially after hearing differing opinions from several neurologists. "I'm like, could someone be educated about this?" she said.
Her frustration took her to Los Angeles, where she met Dr. Hrayr Shahinian, who uses a minimally invasive technique to get deep inside a patient's brain. "We want to be in and out without the brain knowing we were there, and I think that's the beauty of this technique," he told NBC Los Angeles. While Karanam's condition is rare, it's not the doctor's first time seeing a teratoma. "This is my second one, and I've probably taken out 7,000 or 8,000 brain tumors," he said.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
More than 2,000 dead following massive earthquake in Morocco
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mexico's next president will almost certainly be its 1st female president
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
North Korea's Kim to visit Putin in eastern Russia to discuss arms sales for Ukraine war, U.S. says
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Gabon's military leader sworn in following coup in latest African uprising
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published