The twin within (3) A dermoid cyst

There is a fair amount of controversy about dermoid cysts.  On the one hand it seems like a fairly normal anomaly of the skin cells, which forms a cyst under the skin, but on the other a dermoid cyst may develop far away from the skin, deep inside the body on an ovary or in the abdomen.

Typically, a dermoid cyst contains structures that are related to the outer layers of the body ( fat, hair, teeth.)

They can be any size, and may grow as large as a grapefruit. Here is a picture. ( after surgical excision)

It seems an extraordinary idea to call such an object an "enclosed monozygotic twin"  but if you had such a growth inside you it may feel that way, and you would be right.  I have written about this in my book here.

Dermoid cysts developing on ovaries are a major problem. See here.

Dermoid cysts on ovaries may not be aliens from outer space, but they are aliens to your body. Dermoid cysts on ovaries, more often than not, turn out to be something to be scared about. 

They are similar to teratomas,  being lumps of tissue that partially resemble human form, and  these enclosed twins are named according to how well the tissues have organised themselves into human form. Dermoid cysts don't look like anything much, but sometimes they contain bones, and they should then correctly be called a teratoma. If feet or hands or recognisable organs have formed, then they would be named a fetus  in fetu. Its a spectrum of enclosed monozygotic twinning. 

Recent concepts regarding the origin of FIF ( fetus in fetu) suggest that it is part of a spectrum of monozygotic twinning gone awry, ranging from conjoined twins at one end to fetaform teratomas at the other.

This blog here describes how it looks and what it feels like to carry such a cyst ( dermoid/teratoma) and to have it removed.  Styled as "my evil twin". But was it?  Interesting that this woman named her cyst Maria.  She also has a problem with finishing projects:

I have so many projects in progress that I'm dying to share... yet i keep losing interest in them long before they are finished.

This trait is common among womb twin survivors - I'll write about that later on this week on 23rd when we celebrate the anniversary of the death of Leonardo da Vinci, in my view, probably the greatest womb twin survivor in history.

(I know - 23rd is also Shakespeare's birth/death day, but that's another story.  He had twins himself and wrote a lot about twins in his plays........... another womb twin survivor perhaps? )

A parasitic twin, now vanished.

This little boy in India carried his twin as a parasitic set of limbs for many years until it was removed.


THE PARASITIC TWIN

Eight-year-old Indian boy Deepak Kumar Paswaan was born with body parts of his twin attached to the chest. The phenomenon, also known as "conjoined twin syndrome" or "vanishing twin syndrome" occurs when twin fetuses don't completely separate in utero. One ceases to develop and becomes absorbed into the healthy fetus. The undeveloped twin is called parasitic because it is dependent on the body functions of the healthy twin to live.

Deepak was called "octopus boy" by some of the locals and was even accused of being the devil in a human body. Fortunately, thanks to the help of some volunteers, enough money was raised to have the parasitic twin removed.


I wonder if he feels a sense of loss now?

I hear from womb twin survivors who have surgery to remove their twin in the form of a dermoid cyst, teratoma,  foetus in foetu or parasitic body parts, and who feel that sense of mourning and loss after surgery.

Read about how it felt for Deepak (known as octopus boy) to be eight years old with a parastitic twin that twitched in spasms which he could not control.

Read about how the surgery to remove his twin has changed his life.

Something missing

A little girl has her twin growing inside her ( this is known as fetus in fetu)
Story here
She will have surgery, the fetus will be removed and she will then become a womb twin survivor. No one will recognise that this loss will have a psychological effect on her. The effect may not be significant and ashe may have a happy life. Probably she will never say a word to anyone but there will always be a strange sense of something missing. Sher may work it out for herself but people will laugh at her when she says she is "missing" a growth that once existed inside her.

No one will suggest that the body parts of her lost twin are disposed of with respect, as now happens after miscarriage. The fetus will probably be preserved in formalin and languish in a lab for decades.

I recently received an email about a woman who had ovarian cysts and a teratoma (which is like a fetus in fetu but less organised and developed into human form) and she said:

I never knew I was one of a twin until about 10 years ago when I had a scan showing ovarian cysts which were later proved to be dermoid and teratoma. I have researched the symptoms of womb twin survivors and I am amazed and relieved to know that there is an explanation for how I feel.....

This little girl may benefit one day from the book I am writing, for that will explain it all. So, back to work at my keyboard and let's get it done soon.....

The vanishing twin in film

Well, a film has been made about vanishing twins, here is the summary:

Olivia and her four friends hold a purifying water fast in her secluded cottage.
Docile and introverted, the girl is easy prey for her deceitful guests, who ridicule her and her vanishing twin -- an unborn child absorbed by Olivia in the womb.
Torment takes hold and Olivia ferociously removes the only palpable link she has with her dead twin -- a tooth lodged beneath the skin of her shoulder.
But discarding it down the drain only brings the horrific past to the surface.
Just as water awakens his hidden life, it is water that will gruesomely take life away.

Watch it on utube

I haven't see the film but it looks like once she removes the tooth (a teratoma or dermoid cyst, they often contain teeth) the memory/spirit of her lost twin brother is revived and comes to her. There's lots of blood and its classified as "horror."

This is not helpful. When are we going to see vanishing twin phenomenon as a natural, very sad process leaving a psycho/spiritual impression, but one that can be healed in a few months of wombtwin work? But no, it must be a horror film. It makes me angry. So negative.