Neurosurgeons remove 18 cm-long ‘tail’ from Indian boy’s back

A team of neurosurgeons in Nagpur city of India's western Maharashtra state successfully removed an 18-cm long human tail from the back of an 18-year old boy after its abnormal growth turned painful for him.



A team of doctors operated upon the boy on Monday (October 03) and removed the tail growing from the posterior end of his body on the back. Head of Neurosurgery department, Super Specialty Hospital, Pramod Giri, said the boy was happy as he was able to sleep on his back after a very long time.

"He is good, he is able to sleep on his back. He is very happy because he was unable to sleep on his back for a long time," said Giri on Tuesday (October 04).



Giri said that the parents as well as the child hid the fact until the boy started facing problems. "He had a tail on his back since a long time and it was still growing. He started facing problems recently, so he consulted our OPD (Out Patient Department). His tail was 18-cm long, due to which he used to face problem while sleeping on his back. Cosmetically, it was a problem too. Till now he was hiding the tail, but after he started facing problems, he came to the OPD," added Giri.



Human tail generally manifests into problems related to bladder functioning like lack of control of bowel. It can also result in pain and loss of function in lower limbs or legs.