Dhaka, Oct. 7 -- Chinese doctors have shrunk a potentially fatal lung tumour inside a baby still in the womb using only a needle and microwave energy -- without making a single incision -- in what they are calling a world first.

The baby had developed a condition called congenital pulmonary airway malformation (CPAM), a genetic lung abnormality occurring in roughly 1 in 25,000-35,000 pregnancies, reports The Independent.

While usually manageable, severe cases can see the tumour grow rapidly, compressing the heart and lungs and potentially causing fetal death.

At 22 weeks of gestation, the tumour had grown to 5cm and dangerous fluid had begun building up in the baby's abdomen.

Doctors inserted a needle through the mother's abdomen dire...