Four-Month-Old Baby Found with Teeth in Brain Tumor

Health officials discovered teeth growing inside a four-month-old baby's brain possibly due to a rare brain tumor. 

Doctors believe that the baby boy from Maryland who suffers from a rare type of brain tumor which also had multiple teeth may be the first person in history to suffer from this type of problem.

According to the Daily Mail, the boy underwent surgery that removed the tumor and is now well on his way to recovery. Yet it was during a routine health check that doctors discovered that his head was growing significantly faster than normal, according to the report.

An MRI scan revealed that the boy's head had a 4.1 cm by 4 cm by 3.5 cm tumor near his pituitary gland that also showed a tumor with loose teeth in his lower jaw. Health officials discovered that this rare, slow-growing mass is known as adamantinomatous craniopharyngioma, adding that these tumors start near the pituitary gland and are typically filled with sticky, yellow containing cholesterol crystals. Officials added that they believe these tumors form from the same cells involved in teeth making. However, they also note that actual teeth have never been seen in these types of tumors.

"It's not every day you see teeth in any type of tumor in the brain. In a craniopharyngioma, it's unheard of," said Dr. Narlin Beaty, a neurosurgeon at the University of Maryland Medical Center, who performed the boy's operation, via Live Science, adding that these tumors often contain some calcium deposits "but when we pulled out a full tooth...I think that's something slightly different."

"He's doing extremely well, all things considered. This was a big tumor right in the center of his brain. Before the modern surgical era this child would not have survived," Beaty added, via the news organizatin. 

More information regarding the findings can be seen via the New England Journal of Medicine.