The tot had been born via caesarean section at a rural
hospital in north-eastern Mexico. Upon first examination, doctors discovered
the bizarro butt tassel, which measured around 5.7-centimeters long and was
covered with hair. Accompanying pics show the odd appendage, which is
cylindrical and tapered at the tip like partially rolled Play-Doh.
The baby reportedly cried when doctors pierced the appendage
with a needle. They then performed a Lumbosacral X-ray - an imaging test that
helps the doctor view the anatomy of the lower back - but found no evidence of
anomalies or bone structures inside the tail. The child's MRI scan also
revealed no brain anomalies, and was negative for spine abnormalities.
Once doctors ruled out spinal issues, the baby girl was
re-assessed by a paediatrics and general surgery team when she reached two
months old.
When the doctors were satisfied that there had been adequate
weight gain and growth for age, the tail structure had increased 0.8 cm in
length.
With no evidence of skin lesions, a decision was made to
remove the tail and reconstruct the area by Limberg plasty - where a diamond-shaped
incision (cut) is made to remove the affected skin and underlying tissue.
The child was then discharged and no complications have been
reported since. According to the journal: "The presence of tails in humans
is extremely infrequent. In the most recent review by Tojima and Yamada in
2020, which collected case reports in English, French, Japanese, Italian, and
German, there were only 195 cases of human tails identified until 2017."
However, this is not the first time a child has been born
with a tail. In 2021, a Brazilian baby was born with a 12cm-long tail with a
strange sphere hanging on the end. The child's birth and tail-removal surgery
were detailed in the Journal of Pediatric Surgery Case Reports.
But in some incredibly rare cases, the tail continues to grow. It was only after an ultrasound scan that doctors confirmed the tail was not attached to its nervous system, meaning it could be surgically removed. Following its removal, doctors discovered the ball was composed of fat and embryonic connective tissue. The tail itself was just boneless tissue.