A woman in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region has successfully undergone surgery to have a fetus removed from her liver.

The 21-year-old was 14 weeks pregnant when doctors discovered that the embryo was developing outside the uterus.

This form of ectopic pregnancy, as it is known, is extremely rare with only 22 known cases recorded worldwide.

It is also dangerous, carrying a high risk of hemorrhage and maternal fatality if the fetus is allowed to develop.

According to Zhao Renfeng, director of gynecology and obstetrics at Guangxi People's Hospital, the accepted treatment would have involved surgical removal of the fetus and placenta, alongside all or part of the liver.

However, the location of the placenta in this case made such surgery impossible without risking the patient's life.

Instead, Zhao and his colleagues carried out keyhole surgery to successfully clear away the placenta without removing the liver, which is thought to be a world first.