The unusual case reported in a medical journal described how the baby with the double penis also had a double pinpoint urethral opening so he could urinate through both

A baby born with a double penis could have been as a result of a twin that never formed properly, doctors believe.

The unusual case, highlighted in the International Journal of Surgery Case Reports, described a baby whose double penis also had a double pinpoint urethral opening so he could urinate through both.

The author of the report, Ahmed Maher Ali, and his team at the Pediatric Surgery Unit in Assiut University Children Hospital, in Assiut, Egypt, wrote: “Our case has a complete double penis with two separate scrotums.”

Their report added: “We present a newborn with double penis and double scrotum as a part of a caudal duplication syndrome (CDS) which is a condition includes duplication of the distal organs of the body.

“It is crucial to have knowledge about it to be able to be identified.

“The cause of CDS is unknown, many theories have tried to explain that, but the most accepted theory is failure of monchorial twins to separate completely.

“CDS is a very rare condition which needs [a] multidisciplinary team to manage and needs staged repair.

“Most pediatricians and pediatric surgeons are unable to diagnose it, we add a case of CDS to the literature.”

The baby, who weighed 2.6kg at birth, was also born with a double scrotum containing one palpable testis for each.

There was no initial anal orifice and surgery was needed for a low descending colostomy that revealed a duplicated colon, the report said.

They concluded: “CDS is a rare condition that needs a multidisciplinary team for its management that includes staged repair of duplications.

“In our case, we are planning to start staged repair at the age of 16 months.”

They stressed written informed consent was obtained from the patient parents for publication of this case report.

Caudal duplication syndrome (CDS) is a rare disease which encompasses a wide spectrum of anomalies and can include partial or complete duplication.

According to Science Direct, penile duplication has a frequency of one in five million births.