The birth of a baby boy with only one eye has been making world headlines. The boy was born in Egypt and is the third baby in the past decade to be born with the rare congenital disease known as ‘Cyclopia’. The rare condition occurs in only 4 out of every 1,000 births.
Cyclopia is more commonly seen in animals than humans. It occurs when the fetus fails to develop two separate eye sockets or cavities for the orbits of the eyes. This condition is named after the Cyclops, a greek mythical giant with only one eye.
Born with one eye and no nose, the ‘Cyclops’ baby also possessed other deformities on various parts of his body. They often pass away within days after their birth because of other congenital defects such as heart malformations.
While the mother was pregnant, the doctors examined her ultrasound and concluded that the fetus she was carrying had hydrocephalus. Though they planned to conduct a procedure which would lessen the water inside the fetus’ skull, she was too far along in her pregnancy and there was no way to do the procedure safely.
Doctors believe that it might have been due to the medicine the mother was taking or prolonged exposure to radiation. Sadly, the little boy did not survive more than 24 hours after birth.
The mother, along with her family, are currently undergoing counselling.
There have been cases of infants surviving despite this condition, however. In 2006, a woman in India gave birth to a little girl with Cyclopsia but managed to bring her home safely.
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Also read: Born without a lung, toddler’s heart stapled to her ribcage to stop it from moving in her chest
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