Student's brain tumour is actually her 'evil embryonic twin' with teeth, hair and bone

Yamini Karanam was diagnosed with a rare teratoma

Yamini Karanam, a PHD student at Indiana University, said she began experiencing difficulty with reading and listening in September last year

A woman in the US has undergone pioneering surgery to remove an 'embryonic twin' from her brain which was complete with hair, bone and teeth.

Yamini Karanam, a PHD student at Indiana University, said she first began experiencing difficulty with reading and listening in September last year.

Describing her symptoms, the 26-year-old told NBC: "[I began experiencing] problems with reading comprehension, listening comprehension. If a couple people were talking in a room, I wouldn't understand what was happening.”

Ms Karanam was diagnosed with a pineal tumour, but doctors struggled to agree on whether the tumour was operable because of its location in her brain. Their indecision led her to contact Dr. Hrayr Shahinian at the Skullbase Institute in Los Angeles for help.

Dr Shahinian has developed a minimally-invasive procedure allowing him to reach into the brain and chisel away at the tumour, in what is effectively key-hole surgery.

“Unlike traditional brain surgery where you open the skull and use metal retractors and you bring a microscope to see in the depths of the brain, what we're doing is keyhole surgery,” he explained. "We want to be in and out without the brain knowing we were there, and I think that's the beauty of this technique.”

Meanwhile, her friends created a fundraising page to raise enough money to fly her out to LA for Dr Shahinian’s operation, which received $32,437 (£21,600).

He operated on Ms Karanam using this technique and discovered the tumour was in fact a rare teratoma, her embryonic twin, and had bone, teeth and hair.

The teratoma removed from her brain (NBC)

A teratoma is a type of germ cell tumour that usually contain tissues found in organs. They are thought to be present at birth but are often not spotted until later in the person's life.

Mr Shahinian said the teratoma is only the second one he has removed after performing between 7,000 and 8,000 operations during his career.

The teratoma was successfully removed and Dr Shahinian confirmed the tumour was benign. Ms Karanam now refers to the tumour as her "evil twin sister who's been torturing me for the past 26 years”.

She is expected to make a full recovery.