A teenage boy has had an eight-inch long “tail” removed from his back. The tail had started to grow on the back of the teenager just after his 14th birthday.But over the past four years, the “tail” had grown to 8 inches long on the Indian boy, now 18.

His doctors believe the case requires examination in a medical journal as the “tail” could be the longest recorded so far after other shorter tails of about 6 inches in length.

His family , who were apprehensive about drawing a public attention to the condition of their son, finally decided to get the tail removed.

They refused to have their identity disclosed.

Doctors say the boy might have developed the “tail” in the womb as a result of a neural tube deformity but it appeared outside only after he grew up.

A team of neurosurgeons at the government Super Specialty Hospital successfully removed the human tail, apparently the longest recorded so far.