It was once believed that the birth of Siamese twins marks the imminent end of the world, so they tried to sacrifice the unfortunate people who have grown together with the bodies or simply get rid of them. Later, Siamese twins, who cannot be separated, had only one way - to the circus, to entertain the audience. But, despite this, some pairs of fused twins managed to live their lives happily.
Chang and Eng Bunker
Chang and Eng were born on May 11, 1811 in Siam, in what is now Thailand. It was after the Bunker brothers became known to the world that the fused twins began to be called Siamese. It should be noted that the king of Siam was so amazed at the birth of Chang and Eng that he ordered to immediately kill the twins so as not to bring trouble to the state. But the mother refused to give up her boys, and the king's order was never carried out.
At the same time, the medical technologies of the 19th century did not leave Chang and Eng any chance of separation: the brothers were thoracopagos (twins fused in the chest area), and in this case, the heart is always affected. Even with the current level of medicine, the chances of surviving separation are very small, and then it meant certain death. Therefore, Chang and Eng grew up like ordinary children - in fact, they had no choice.
When the brothers were teenagers, they were noticed by British businessman Robert Hunter and invited Chang and Eng to perform in his circus, demonstrating their body and its abilities. It was a big risk, but Hunter was an honest man. The brothers toured the UK and the US until they turned 21, and after their contract with Hunter ended, they became rich.
Chang and Eng moved to the United States, took the surname Bunker, signed a contract with the famous Phineas Barnum circus and bought a farm. On April 13, 1843, a double wedding took place: Chang and Eng married two sisters - Adelaide and Sarah Ann Aits. In the marriage, Chang had 10 children, while Eng had 11.
The brothers lived on their farm with a loving family until his death in 1874: Chang fell ill with pneumonia and died, and Eng died a few hours later. They were 63 years old.
Rose and Joseph Blazek
The sisters from Bohemia (now Czech Republic) were born in 1878. It was not possible to separate the sisters who had grown together in the pelvic area. Rosa and Joseph's parents were so frightened that at first they decided not to feed the sisters so that they would starve to death. It is not known why they changed their minds, but Rosa and Joseph grew up. Since it was difficult for them to study with ordinary children, the parents preferred to teach the sisters music and, oddly enough, dancing. The sisters played the violin and harp and really knew how to dance, each with its own partner. They performed regularly and were generally successful. And then Rose fell in love.
Her chosen one was a German officer, who almost quarreled Rosa with her sister. Rosa and Joseph had one external genitalia for two, so at first there could be no question of any intimate relationship. However, later Joseph gave in and allowed her sister to reunite with her lover. And something happened that no one expected: Rose became pregnant. Exactly Rose, because each of the sisters had their own womb. The newborn was named Franz. It was an absolutely healthy baby, which the sisters raised together, since both had milk. At the same time, legally, they were both considered Franz's mothers. The baby's father, unfortunately, died in the war.
After that, Rosa and Joseph had an affair, once the sisters even wanted to get married, but they were not allowed to: according to the law, such a marriage would be considered bigamy. But in any case, the sisters managed to know both love and the happiness of motherhood.
Rose and Joseph died in 1922. Joseph fell ill with jaundice, and the doctors offered Rosa a separation in order to at least save her. Rose refused.
“If Joseph dies, I want to die too,” she said.
Millie and Christina McCoy
Fate prepared for the black sisters Millie and Christina cruel trials: twins fused with their backs and pelvis were born into a family of slaves in Northern California. When they were 8 months old, the owner sold them with their mother, but the new owner chose to immediately resell the twins to the freak circus. From there, the girls were soon kidnapped. Only three years later they were discovered in England and returned to the United States.
Then their owner, apparently, decided that the fused twins themselves were not so interesting to the public, and began to teach the girls to sing. So Millie and Christina, who had no chance of separation or freedom, got a chance to realize their talents. The girls sang really well.
After the death of the master of slaves, his son Joseph inherited, who invented a new legend for the sisters: Milli and Christina became Milli-Christina, one girl with two heads, four arms and four legs. This is how he presented his charges. But that didn't matter anymore. Millie and Christina sang so beautifully that fans did not come to look at their physical characteristics, but to enjoy the voices of their sisters. The "two-headed nightingale", as Millie and Christina were called, became extremely popular. Soon, the girls began not only to sing, but also to play musical instruments and even dance.
And after the civil war and the abolition of slavery, Millie and Christina not only gained freedom, but became very rich and respected ladies. Musical talent allowed them to earn a comfortable life. At the age of 58, the sisters left the stage and became Millie and Christina again. They returned to North Carolina, bought a house in Columbus, and spent the rest of their days resting from their worries. They died at the age of 61.
Perhaps the most famous living Siamese twins are sisters Abigail and Brittany Hensel from the United States. This is a rare case of surviving (and living a full life!) Dicephalic twins: the sisters have two heads, one torso, two arms, two legs and three lungs. Each has its own heart and stomach, but the blood supply between them is common. Two spinal cords end in one pelvis, and all organs below the waist are common. In fact, from the side of the dicephalus they look like a man with two heads. And yet they manage to lead a fulfilling life.
Each of the sisters controls their own half of the body, but Brittany and Abigail have learned to coordinate movements with such precision that they can run, swim, ride a bicycle and even drive a car (each has its own driver's license). The girls went to a regular school and both dreamed of becoming doctors as children. Parents strongly supported any hobbies of the sisters, and therefore Brittany and Abigail managed not to feel like outcasts: they never hid at home and tried not to react to the increased attention of strangers. As a result, the girls live a full life: they have many friends and hobbies.
Moreover, the girls graduated from the university with a degree in mathematics teacher, and each received a license. They got a job, but they get one salary for two.
“Of course, we immediately realized that we would have one salary, because we do the work of one person,” says Abby.
Abigail and Brittany have their own page in
Once the fate of all Siamese twins was the same - to serve the audience for fun. Today's world is not so cruel, but not many of these twins become happy. We want to tell you about the difficult and often tragic fates of these people.
Siamese twins are identical twins who are not completely separated during embryonic development and have common body parts and / or internal organs. The likelihood of such people being born is about one in 200,000 births. More often girls are born as Siamese twins, although the first two pairs of the most famous Siamese twins were born as boys. But if you discard science and “turn on” feelings, then you will not envy the fate of these people.
1. Unnamed Siamese twins
The earliest case of the birth of Siamese twins was scientifically recorded and dated to 945. This year, two fused boys from Armenia were brought to Constantinople for examination by doctors. A pair of unnamed Siamese twins managed to survive and even grow up. They were well known at the court of Emperor Constantine VII. After the death of one of the brothers, doctors made the first ever attempt to separate Siamese twins. Unfortunately, the second brother also failed to survive.
2. Chang and Eng Bankers
The most famous pair of Siamese twins were the Chinese Chang and Eng Bunker. They were born in 1811 in Siam (modern Thailand). Later, all twins born with such a physical anomaly began to be called "Siamese". Chang and Eng were born with fused chest cartilages. In modern science, this type is called "xyphopagic twins", and such twins can be divided. But in those days, the boys had to perform in the circus for the entertainment of the public in order to survive. For many years they toured with the circus under the nickname "Siamese Twins" and became famous all over the world.
In 1839, the brothers stopped performing, bought a farm and even married two sisters. They had completely healthy children. These famous brothers died in 1874. When Chang died of pneumonia, Eng was asleep at the time. When he woke up and found his brother dead, he also died, although before that he was healthy.
3. Millie and Christina McCoy
Another famous case of the birth of Siamese twins occurred in 1851. In North Carolina, a pair of Siamese twins, Millie and Christina McCoy, were born into a family of slaves. When the babies were eight months old, they were sold to D.P. Smith, the famous showman. It was assumed that when the girls grew up, they would be used for performances in the circus. They started performing at the age of three, they were known as the "Two-Headed Nightingale". The girls had a musical education, sang well and played musical instruments. The sisters toured until the age of 58, and died in 1912 of tuberculosis.
4. Giovanni and Giacomo Tocci
Siamese twins Giovanni and Giacomo Tocci were born in 1877 in Italy as dicephalic twins. They had two heads, two legs, one torso, and four arms. They said that after seeing the kids, their father, without experiencing the shock, ended up in a psychiatric clinic. But resourceful relatives decided to take advantage of the misfortune and forced the boys to perform in public. But Giovanni and Giacomo disliked this and did not respond well to "training". They never learned to walk, as each head had control over only one of the legs. According to some sources, the Tocci brothers died at an early age. The famous writer Mark Twain described their difficult life in one of his stories.
5. Daisy and Violetta Hilton
These girls were born in 1908 in Brighton, England. They fused in the pelvic area, but they did not have any vital common organs. At first, their fate was extremely sad. From birth they were doomed to perform in various show programs. The twins were bought by Mary Hilton from their barmaid mom, and they began their first performance when they were very young. The girls sang and played musical instruments, touring throughout Europe and America. After the death of Mary Hilton, her relatives began to "take care" of the girls. And only in 1931, Daisy and Violetta were able to get the long-awaited freedom and 100 thousand dollars in compensation through the court.
The twins continued to perform and even came up with their own program. They toured when they were already elderly and even starred in two films, one of them was biographical and was called "Bound for Life".
Daisy and Violetta Hilton died in 1969 from the flu. Daisy was the first to die, and Violetta remained alive for some time, but she had no opportunity to call anyone for help.
6. Simplicio and Lucio Godin
These two boys were born in 1908 in the city of Samar in the Philippines. The case is unique in that they fused with cartilage in the pelvic region back to back, but at the same time were so flexible that they were able to turn to face each other. When the twins were 11 years old, they were taken to his upbringing by the rich Filipino Theodore Yangeo. He raised the boys in luxury and provided them with a good education. In 1928, Simplicio and Lucio married twin sisters (not Siamese) and lived a happy life until 1936, when Lucio contracted pneumonia and died. The decision was made to perform an emergency surgery to separate the twins, but Simplicio contracted spinal meningitis and died 12 days after his brother's death.
7. Masha and Dasha Krivoshlyapovs
The most famous Siamese twins of the USSR, Masha and Dasha Krivoshlyapovs, were born on January 4, 1950. Their tragic fate is known to every Soviet person. The sisters were born with two heads, four arms, three legs and one common body. When a compassionate nurse showed the girls to their mother, the poor woman lost her mind and ended up in a psychiatric clinic. The sisters met their mother only when they were 35 years old.
During the first seven years, the girls were at the Institute of Pediatrics of the USSR Academy of Sciences, where they were used as "guinea pigs". From 1970 until their death in 2003, the Krivoshlyapov sisters lived in a boarding school for the elderly. In the last years of their lives, Masha and Dasha often drank.
8. Abigail and Brittany Hensel
Sisters Abigail and Brittany Hensel were born in the western United States, in New Germany. On March 7, 2016 they turned 26 years old. Their life is a vivid example of the fact that, while remaining one, you can live a completely normal, full-fledged life. The Hensel sisters are dicephalic twins. They have one torso, two arms, two legs, three lungs. Each has its own heart and stomach, but the blood supply between them is common.
Abigail and Brittany live with their parents, younger brother and sister. Each of them controls an arm and a leg on their side, and each feels a touch only on its half of the body. But they learned to coordinate their movements very well, so much so that they can play the piano and drive a car. The inhabitants of their small town know the sisters well and treat them well. Abby and Brit have many friends, loving parents and a fulfilling life. The sisters recently graduated from the university, and each received a diploma. Now they are teaching math in elementary school. Their attitude to life, the ability to overcome any difficulties is a special gift.
9. Christa and Tatiana Hogan
These wonderful babies were born in 2006 in Vancouver, Canada. At first, the doctors gave a very small chance that the girls would survive. Even before their birth, they offered the mother an abortion. But the young woman insisted on leaving the children, and never once regretted her decision. The girls were born healthy, and the only thing that distinguished them from ordinary children was that the sisters grew together with their heads. Twins grow and develop in the same way that children of their age should develop. They speak well and even know how to count. Their parents simply adore them and always say that they are healthy, beautiful and happy.
Siamese twins are two newborns with fused body parts. Their "connection" can be in different places, while doctors divide such twins into two types: symmetrical and asymmetric. This seemingly insignificant separation has drastic consequences for the twins themselves.
Siamese twins are not an example of gene mutation, but arise from one fertilized egg (this is how twins appear), which must separate at a certain stage in order to form two people. However, when cell division is delayed, the two embryos merge, which contributes to the appearance of Siamese twins. According to another theory, embryos connect even before separation, at an early stage in their development.
We invite you to learn about 10 Siamese twins, distinguished by their uniqueness and interesting history.
Ronnie and Donnie Galion
Conjoined twins Ronnie and Donnie Galion were born at the end of October 1951, and were fused in the abdominal cavity. In 2009, they were listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest living Siamese twins. Today their age is approaching 70 years. This result is all the more surprising when you consider that conjoined twins have a rather short lifespan. Unfortunately, many Siamese twins die during childbirth or shortly after birth.
Ronnie and Donnie not only survived, but also became real stars, working in the circus and living a full life (although they were forbidden to attend school as children so that other children would not be distracted from their studies). Joined in the lower abdomen, each of the brothers has "their" limbs. The only thing they share is the intestines and the penis.
Laurie and Reba Spappel are Siamese twins craniopagus. They were born in 1961 in a small North American town in Pennsylvania. This type of twins is born with fused heads, which poses an almost insoluble task for doctors to separate people. Craniopagi twins are born no more often than one in two and a half million and are rare even among Siamese twins, accounting for 2 to 6 percent of their total. Like Laurie and the Rebbe, they share parts of the brain, making it impossible to separate them.
Laurie and Reba are forced to spend their entire lives with their heads connected. Despite this, Reba was able to make a career as a country music performer. At one point, the girl said that she always felt like a guy and changed her name to George.
The story of Erin and Abby Delaney is an example of the real miracle and professionalism of doctors. Like the Siamese twins Spappel, Erin and Abby were craniopagus, fused at the top of the skull. They were born in the summer of 2016, and ten months later the doctors performed an operation to separate them, which lasted 11 hours and ended in success. Its implementation required the work of 30 doctors at once.
Separations of this type of Siamese twins are extremely rare. The operation was extremely difficult, since the twins had common blood vessels, which are necessary for the vital activity and normal functioning of the brain. One wrong move, one mistake, and both twins could have died on the operating table. Separation at such a young age will ensure girls have a fulfilling life. They will grow up without even remembering the physical connection at birth.
Frankincense and Lale Bijani
Sisters Ladan and Lale were born in Iran in 1974. Their story was not as joyous as that of Delaney's Siamese twins. The girls were also craniopagas, trying to split up their entire lives. Because their brains were connected, doctors rated the separation operation as unusually risky. For this reason, German specialists refused to help the girls.
However, their desire to separate was so great that the Siamese twins Ladan and Lale turned to doctors in Singapore, who undertook a risky operation. According to the doctors, they tried to dissuade the girls. The adoptive father of Ladan and Lale, on the other hand, claims that the doctors insisted on surgical intervention. The adoptive mother speaks of Frankincense's intransigence, while Lale was terribly frightened.
Unfortunately, both girls died as a result of complications that caused a lot of blood loss. At the time of the operation, they were 29 years old. Nevertheless, their death was not in vain. Doctors were able to better understand exactly how to perform such operations, increasing the success rate of craniopagus separation.
By the way, our site has a very interesting site from the point of view of modern science.
Brothers Liu Seng-Sen and Liu Tang-Sen were Siamese twins xyphopagus. This means that they have grown together with cartilage to the lower abdomen. The twins were born in China in 1886 and made a living performing performances throughout Asia.
Despite the fact that the exact date of birth of the twins is unknown, some sources claim that they died at 71. If that's true, then they are the longest-lived Siamese twins in history. However, the theory is still not confirmed, however, as it is not refuted.
Abigail and Brittany Hensel
Born in 1990, Abby and Britty Hensel are Siamese twin parapagos. These twins share a common torso with a pair of arms and legs, but two heads. The girls' heads are filled with different thoughts and desires, which they share in one body. Despite the rarity of such fusion (found only in 5% of Siamese twins), the girls live a completely ordinary life. They successfully obtained their driver's license in Minnesota. Interestingly, the girls had to pass the test twice, since each of the sisters controls "her" arm and leg, and only feels her half of the body. Both sisters passed their exams perfectly.
This separation forces the girls to act in unison, following the movement of the limbs of each of the sisters. Nevertheless, they not only walk and run perfectly, but even ride a bike, swim and exercise. Abby and Britty live full lives and are not shy about their "specialness". At some point, they even hosted a reality show on television, and now they teach mathematics at school, not at all complaining that they are paid the salary of one person.
By the way, we have an article about the most beautiful in the world! We advise you to look at them.
Masha and Dasha Krivoshlyapov
Masha and Dasha Krivoshlyapovs were born in the USSR at the beginning of 1950. They had a splice at the waist with bodies separated by 180 degrees and were the classic representatives of Siamese twins ischiopagus. Each sister had "her own" set of organs and limbs, the only thing they "shared" was her legs. Below the belt, it was one person, above - two different.
Their story was tragic from birth to the death of the girls. After giving birth, doctors took the girls away from their parents, telling them that they had died of pneumonia. In infancy, research was carried out on the sisters at the institutes of medicine. To see how Siamese twins reacted, doctors performed a variety of experiments, including extreme temperature swings, isolation, and sensory deprivation.
This led to the development of two antagonist personalities who were constantly fighting among themselves. At one point, Dasha tried to hang herself, due to the fact that Masha, who dominated her, forbade her to enter into a relationship with the guy she liked. The sisters died in 2003, 17 hours apart. The first to die as a result of a heart attack (one of the reasons is alcohol addiction) was Masha. A day later, Dasha died, since the sisters had one circulatory system, the second girl died due to intoxication. It is difficult to imagine how Dasha could have felt, knowing that she would soon die after her sister.
Conner and Carter Marybal
Conner and Carter Marybal are Siamese twins from Florida who only went through a successful separation operation in 2018. They were tied in the abdomen, sharing one stomach in two. They also shared a liver, intestines, and bile ducts. Despite the difficulties, a team of highly qualified surgeons was able to share common organs, saving the brothers' lives. Before the operation, the predictions were disappointing, according to doctors, the chances of success were only 25%, however, they succeeded.
This operation shows that modern medicine has reached heights that allow the separation of Siamese twins, giving them the opportunity to live a fulfilling life.
Arthur and Heitor Rocha
Brazilian twins Arthur and Heitor Rocha were born in 2009 with a joint in the abdomen. They are often shown on television, which made the brothers extremely popular all over the world. Arthur and Heitor have a common liver, bladder and intestines. The brothers have been linked for five years. Over time, Eitor's weight began to "load" Arthur's spine and internal organs, so their parents decided to undergo separation surgery. The risk was very high, which ultimately led to the death of Arthur. Such complex adhesions are often inoperable, surgical intervention can lead to the death of both twins or, as in this case, one of them.
Chang and Ang Bunker's life was quite unusual, even for Siamese twins. They are considered the "founding fathers" of the term. The brothers (and all subsequent Siamese twins) received such a nickname because they were born on the territory of modern Thailand, which at that time was called Siam.
The twins were born in 1811, performing from 1929 to 1939 at the British Circus, after which they moved to America. Initially, the Americans treated them like slaves, seeing in twins only a way to make a huge fortune. Over time, the Bankers were able to avoid the influence of the so-called managers, and began to work for themselves. The brothers received American citizenship, recruited their own troupe, and later bought a farm and several of their own slaves. They married the Aits sisters (no, the girls were not Siamese twins), who bore them a bunch of children. Chang had 10 and Eng had 11.
Chang, who was addicted to alcohol, suffered a stroke that paralyzed his right side of his body. Eng single-handedly moved his brother until Chang died in 1874. His brother survived him for several hours. They passed away at the age of 62.
Finally
Since the 10th century, about 200 operations have been carried out to separate the conjoined twins. The first successful attempt was made in 1689 by the German surgeon Koenig - he separated the twins, fused at the waist. Despite centuries of experience in performing such operations, each of them remains unique and carries significant risks.
But the goal was achieved
Two hands, two heads, two hearts ... Isn't it possible to separate them today if a successful operation was carried out at the end of the 17th century? Nevertheless, medical historians believe that the German surgeon Koenig was successful only because the twins grew together only with the skin, as well as the subcutaneous connective tissue and fatty tissue in the waist area. Now the separation of twins is successful in many, but by no means in all cases, and if the twins have common vital organs, such as the liver, surgery is impossible.
The most famous of this type of operation was carried out on Raditsa and Doditsa, Siamese sisters born in 1888 in the Indian state of Orissa. They were connected by the ribcages and stomachs. In 1893, the London impresario began showing girls in the circus. Then, in 1902, they became the main attraction of the exhibition organized by the French Medical Academy. It was there that the doctors discovered that Doditsa was sick with tuberculosis. To save my sister's life, they decided to separate them. Dr. Doen performed an extremely difficult operation. But it soon became clear that the operation was unsuccessful. However, her main goal - to extend Raditsa's life - was achieved, since she outlived her sister for two whole years.
Now operations are in most cases quite successful. Only craniopagus (fused heads) are not always allowed to be divided by the possibilities of modern medicine.
The first successful operation to separate Siamese twins, fused with heads, but each having its own brain, was performed on December 14, 1952 at Mount Sinai Hospital, Cleveland, pcs. Ohio, USA, Dr. Jacques S. Geller.
Only one in four survives
In Lithuania, in the city of Alytus, there are twelve-year-old girls, Viliya and Vitalia Tamulevicius, who from birth were doomed, if not to death, then to a terrible life ... If not for the director of the Moscow Institute of Neurosurgery. Burdenko Academician of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences Alexander Konovalov. Ten years ago, he performed the first operation to separate twins, who have grown together not only with their foreheads and tops of their heads, but also with their brains! The girls' faces were in different planes, one turned from the other at an angle of about 90 degrees. In total, the twins underwent more than 20 difficult operations. Girls grow up cheerful, talkative, learn successfully and love to read. And most importantly, like all twins, they cannot live an hour without each other.
On average, after operations to separate Siamese twins, only one in four survives. Moreover, surgical intervention is considered successful even if one of the patients dies.
When conjoined twins are born sick, doctors and relatives face a difficult ethical challenge. Sometimes only one twin has a chance to survive, and for this you need to sacrifice the life of the other twin. Parents can choose to surgically separate the twins and save the life of the strongest one. A similar incident happened in 1993 with Emmy and Angela Lakeburg.
Less than 1% chance
The sisters were born fused from chest to abdomen; they had a common liver and a deformed heart. Their mother, Rita Lakeburg, knew that she was carrying conjoined twins, who had little chance of survival, and thought about an abortion, but in the end said: "I can't get rid of my babies." The twins were born so weak that doctors wanted to immediately shut off the air supply that kept them alive.
But the Lakeburges found a clinic in Philadelphia, where surgeons began to separate the sisters in the hope that it would be possible to operate on a deformed heart in order to save the life of one of them. Angela had a better chance, but still, the probability that she would survive was less than 1%.
The operation lasted five and a half hours, Emmy did not live two hours before its end. After the operation, Angela's condition was stable, but 10 months later, right before her first birthday, she also died.
Rita Lakeberg closed her eyes to the financial side of the problem and explained: "I could not live on, torturing myself with the question of whether it was possible to save the life of one of the twins." But the public wondered whether such costly surgeries should be carried out if the chances of success are so low, while many people cannot get basic medical care due to lack of funds.
Moreover, operations of this kind contradict the basic tenet of the Hippocratic Oath, namely "do no harm". Experts pointed out the fact that if the twins were not fused, in the event of an illness of both, no one would offer to donate one of the sisters and transplant her internal organs to the other. It has been suggested that the public is not opposed to drastic measures being taken against conjoined twins simply because many perceive them as monsters.
But there is another point of view on the operations to separate Siamese twins - they see them as the last opportunity to save a person's life. When the fused twins Christina and Betsy Woden were born in 1973, the doctors separated them, and Betsy died of heart disease. Christina lives and lives to this day. Their mother, Jeanne Waltzek, said: “They had to be separated, so something happened that should have happened. The strongest will survive, the weakest - maybe not, but it just so happened: sometimes you have to sacrifice something to save someone a life".
Operate or not?
In 1990, Lev Borisovich Novokreschenov, head of the Department of Pediatric Surgery, Orthopedics and Traumatology of the Chelyabinsk Medical Institute, had no dilemma at all - whether or not to perform an operation. After, according to the ultrasound examination, it became known in the city ahead of time that a young woman, an employee of one of the Chelyabinsk factories, should have Siamese twins, Novokreshenov knew for himself: of course, he would try to separate the children. How could it be otherwise? This will have to be done as soon as possible, as soon as circumstances allow: every extra hour of the tragic mistake of nature will bring unnecessary torment to both the mother of the twins and the babies themselves.
One may ask why they delayed 36 days without having done this operation earlier, if they were preparing for it and decided on it long ago? A non-healing wound in the navel area interfered. The poor children instinctively tried to push themselves off each other all the time, and the wound got worse. When surgeons visiting children realized the futility of conservative efforts, they took babies for surgery with this most powerful risk factor.
The operation lasted one hour and forty-five minutes and went surprisingly smoothly. Well, what about emotions? There was composure, desire for success, great pity for children. And, of course, scientific interest and scientific pride. Through careful preliminary research, we have established that conjoined twins (more precisely, I would call them undivided) have a common liver with two independent bile collectors, independent gastrointestinal tracts, urinary systems and cardiopulmonary complexes. And now, under endotracheal anesthesia (fluorothane, nitrous oxide, calypsol, oxygen) with controlled breathing of both twins (muscle relaxation with ditilin), a skin incision was made along the midline of the connecting "bridge" and along its entire front surface with intersection of the common xiphoid process.
Loops of intestines were found through the significantly stretched tape of the white line and the parietal peritoneum of the "bridge"; a pleasant surprise was the discovery already during the operation of a kind of septum between the abdominal cavities of the twins from the liver to the navel. Nature, as it were, tried to at least partially correct its monstrous mistake by creating this partition in the form of two thin petals, which became a guiding line for surgeons.
Now the question arose of exactly how to divide the liver. The babies' weight was at birth 4700, at the time of the operation - 5800 grams. It seemed rude and blasphemous to use the widely used Vietnamese method when dividing the liver, in which the surgeon actually, as it were, tears the liver body with his fingers, exposing the vessels and bile ducts like strings. Novokreshchenov used a thinner instrument - a curved hemostatic Billroth forceps. There were other successful tactics as well.
The surgeon believes that the team was lucky: there was no threat to the life of the kids during the operation. Everything happened under close monitoring.
Who are the craniopagi?
In 2001, British surgeons successfully separated the Siamese twins, which fused at the base of the spine. According to doctors from Birmingham, who performed this operation, it was only the third such operation in the world. The separated patients, now adolescents, are doing well now.
Conjoined twins Eman and Sanchia were born in Birmingham Children's Hospital. They were connected not only by a section of the spine, but also by part of the intestine. However, during the 15-hour operation, the surgeons managed to separate the twins without visible complications.
The majority of the team of surgeons were local specialists, but they worked with the assistance of Lewis Spitz of Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital in London, who is the world's largest specialist in Siamese twins. The surgeons had to split the spinal cord. In addition, doctors were faced with the need to separate the intestine. They also had to solve the problem of a lack of skin to close the defect formed after separation. To do this, several weeks before the operation, skin-stretching balloons were placed under the twins' skin and inflated.
In 2002, an operation to sever the fused skulls of the sisters Maria Teresa and Maria de Jesus Kih-Alvarez was performed at the University of California Los Angeles clinic and lasted more than 20 hours. They say their theoretical chance of survival was one in a million. However, everything went well. Perhaps the most severe manifestation of craniopagia is when two separate twin brains have common vessels. When surgeons separate the vessels of the skull, serious circulatory disorders can occur in the brain, which are most dangerous for adult patients. In children, the brain is much easier to tolerate such complications.
A complex operation to separate Siamese twins, fused in the head area, requires lengthy preparation and many diagnostic procedures. First of all, doctors make sure that the brains of the two twins are not connected, and they are functionally independent: they breathe, sleep and move asynchronously.
It is also important for doctors to determine how connected the twins' circulatory systems are. To do this, one of them is injected into a vein with a special substance, the path of which is traced through the vessels using an X-ray machine. The screen shows at what speed the substance gets from one twin to another, and what vessels are involved in this process.
Having determined the speed of movement of the same substance through the vessels of each of the twins, it is possible to assess how efficiently their hearts work, and whether they are able to provide an autonomous blood supply to their organisms after separation. The speed and efficiency of the elimination of the radiopaque substance from the body makes it possible to judge the functioning of the kidneys.
The share of craniopagus among all Siamese twins is no more than 6%. This pathology occurs when the embryo, giving rise to two identical embryos, does not completely diverge. This process takes place in the second week of pregnancy. The skulls of twins are most often connected in the parietal region; occipital and frontal fusion is also found.
The most successful operations are the separation of twins, which have a small number of common vessels and have no defects in the meninges. The fusion of two different skulls in this case occurs only in a small area.
Most often, complications are typical in the case of the so-called complete craniopagus. On a tomogram of the skull of such twins, a single cranium is visible, in which there are two brains. However, even with a large fusion area, a positive outcome of the operation is possible, provided that the twins have few common vessels.
The technique of surgery to separate and replace the skull defect is selected individually in each case of craniopagia. Sometimes doctors even resort to complete cardiac arrest, artificial circulation and lowering of the body.
It is common knowledge that twins are of two types. Dizygotic (fraternal or fraternal, non-identical) twins develop from two or more simultaneously fertilized eggs. Monozygous (identical, identical) twins - from one fertilized egg, at an early stage of development split into two (three, four ...) parts. On average, this occurs in three to four pregnancies out of a thousand. The reasons for this splitting have not yet been precisely established. Monozygotic twins are genetically identical. Dizygotic twins from the point of view of genetics are ordinary brothers and sisters.
Depending on at what stage of development of a fertilized egg, its splitting occurred, several types of development of monozygotic twins are distinguished:
1.
In very rare cases (1% of all monozygotic twins), splitting occurs quite late, when the amniotic bladder and chorion have already formed. Then the twins develop in the common amniotic membrane and with the common placenta (monochorionic and monoamniotic type).
2.
If the splitting of the zygote (fertilized egg) occurs later, when a hollow ball is formed from the dividing cells, then the twins divide the chorion and the placenta, and their amniotic membranes are individual. This is the most common variant - it occurs in about two-thirds of cases of monozygotic twins (monochorionic and diamniotic type).
3.
After fertilization, any egg, regardless of whether it is destined to "give birth" to twins or a single fetus, begins to actively divide. The cells that form during this cleavage of the egg are called blastomeres. Blastomeres do not grow, but only halve with each subsequent division. So, splitting can occur already at the stage of two (several) blastomeres and follow the “individualistic” path. By “individualism” we mean the following: the same embryos develop from these blastomeres (after all, they are “children” of the same egg), but each has its own chorion and amniotic membrane (dichorionic diamniotic type). About a third of all monozygotic twins develop in this way. In this case, the placenta is most often one, but it happens that "individualism" goes so far that even two placentas are formed (or several, if there are more than two fetuses).
Fused (or Siamese) twins are monozygous, therefore they have the same set of genes and are always of the same sex.
Fused twins appear if this splitting is delayed until 13 days after conception. Thus, they are monozygotic twins who have not been separated in the womb and remain fused after birth.
First, a few basic facts. Among conjoined twins, there are three times more women than men, and they are most often born in Africa and India. This is a very rare occurrence. There are currently about a dozen couples living in the United States. Most of the conjoined twins die in the womb, and the pregnancy ends in miscarriage. Three-quarters of fused twins are either born dead or die shortly after birth. They are born in about one case in 200 thousand. The birth of fused twins is usually a surprise for parents, because during pregnancy there may be no signs that a woman is carrying fused twins.
Why is the connection happening? According to modern research, many factors can lead to delayed splitting of the zygote. These include genetic and environmental influences as well as exposure to toxic substances. But the cases of the birth of fused twins, recorded millennia ago, received much more colorful explanations at that time. For example, in 1495 in Europe, two girls were born, fused with their foreheads; this incident was explained by the fact that their mother, being pregnant, accidentally hit her head on the head of another woman. Her fright affected the embryos, which led to the appearance of fused twins. Ambros Paré, a 16th century surgeon, said that conjoined twins "violate the natural order of nature." He believed that supernatural forces were to blame for the birth of fused twins - the anger of the Lord, the machinations of the devil - as well as the fact that the woman had a too small womb, she wears tight clothes or sits in the wrong position during pregnancy.
Researchers in the 18th century believed that twins, initially separated, fuse, meeting each other in the womb, or develop from one egg, fertilized by two sperm. At the moment, practically no one adheres to these theories.
Scientists at the Frankfurt Institute of Human Anatomy have come to a truly paradoxical conclusion. They were able to prove that the phenomenon of the birth of Siamese twins is a consequence of a psychological disease known as multiple personality disorder.
The research carried out by German scientists runs counter to the earlier theory that the appearance of Siamese twins is a consequence of a genetic error, a kind of mutation.
Tests carried out on a group of monkeys made it possible to finally dot the i. As it turned out, 80% of animals exposed to continuous psychotropic effects during the pregnancy cycle brought Siamese cubs.
Siamese twins have always amazed the imagination of those around them. They led to the emergence of Roman myths about the two-faced god Janus and Greek legends about the centaur - a half-man, half-horse. The first mention of Siamese twins dates back to Armenia in 945, although the current name of this phenomenon appeared only in 1911 thanks to the famous Banker brothers - Chang and Eng (these names in translation from Thai mean "right" and "left"). They were born on May 11, 1811 in Siam (now Thailand). Their bodies were connected in the area of \u200b\u200bthe sternum by a short tubular cartilaginous ligament, but the adhesion turned out to be flexible, so that gradually they learned to sit, and by the age of 12, and walk. When the twins became adults, this ligament was 10 cm long and about 20 cm wide.
When the brothers were 17 years old, an American merchant took them to the United States to be shown in show business. There they were offered a surgical separation, but then doctors found such an operation deadly. Although the twins were quite limited in movement, they happened to walk 13-16 km, they could run fast, and swam well for short distances. When moving, they seemed to obey common impulses, reacted sharply to each other's state and had similar tastes in everything. Chang, who was 2.5 cm shorter than his brother, wore special boots to make up for the difference. With their tours, the Siamese twins have traveled all over the world. In 1843 they married two sisters. Chang had 10 children and Ang had 12 children. In their entire life, as the brothers argued, they quarreled only once, in childhood, while swimming, when the water seemed too cold to one, and warm to the other.
They died in 1874, at the age of 63. The first to die from pneumonia, Chang-Eng was asleep at that time. Soon, Eng discovered that his brother was dead, and two hours later he also died of intoxication with cadaveric poison.
The Bunker brothers are not the only conjoined twins who have managed to live a long, undivided life. The Scottish Brothers (15th - 16th centuries) and the Bohemian Sisters (19th - 20th centuries) are especially famous.
Rita and Christina were born in the twenties of the 19th centuryin Sardinia. They possessed separate upper body parts, but only one pair of legs.
Their parents brought them to France in 1829 in the hope of making a fortune from anomalous offspring. But they failed to obtain permission to speak in public, and the twins died of hunger and cold. The skeleton of Rita-Christina is kept in the Natural History Museum in Paris.
In 1878born connected by the buttocks sisters Rosa and Joseph Blazek. The relatives thought that it would be better if they died, and after birth they did not feed them for several days. However, the girls stubbornly clung to life. And when they grew up, they proved that they had eaten their bread for a reason. Already in 1892, they became famous on both sides of the Atlantic, captivating the audience with their virtuoso playing the violin and harp.
On April 15, 1910, the sisters were admitted to the hospital, as Rose's belly grew a lot. Joseph's condition was normal. Both vigorously denied the possibility of pregnancy, defending their maiden honor. But pregnancy is difficult to hide, and on April 17 a healthy boy was born.
By that time, Rose admitted that she had a lover, and called his name. He tried to rectify the situation by offering to marry. This sparked a lively debate in the press. Some wrote that sisters should have one husband, since they are connected anatomically. Others believed that because they have two hearts and different affections, they should have two husbands. The dispute was academic, because the laws of none of the American states had a corresponding act. And Rosa's beloved soon disappeared, apparently in search of a more comfortable wife.
The most famous Siamese sisters were Daisy and Violet Hilton. The beautiful girls fused with hips played one of the main roles in the film "Crippled" by Tod Browning. In 1937, they were earning $ 5,000 a week, and their novels served as front page material.
Once, tired of the endless chain of romances, Violetta decided to marry the dancer James Moore. They formalized their marriage in Texas. However, after a couple of weeks, both demanded a divorce.
In 1941, Daisy tried marriage, but her union was just as short: ten days after the ceremony, her husband disappeared.
The tradition of performing on stage was continued by Margaret and Mary Gibb,connected by the buttocks. They loved each other incredibly. They could be severed with a light operation, but the sisters did not want to hear about it. “We were born like that, and we will die like that,” they used to answer. On January 17, 1967, Margaret died of cancer, pulling her sister into the coffin.
Masha and Dasha Krivoshlyapov, born on January 4, 1950in Russia with Catherine and Mikhail Krivoshlyapov. Catherine was first told that her daughters had died, and after a while the compassionate sister showed her the girls. After that, the woman started having mental problems. Mikhail Krivoshlyapov was at that time the driver of Lavrenty Beria. Under pressure from the medical leadership, he signed the death certificates for his daughters and never wanted to know anything about them again. Their spines have grown together, and below the waist, the body is one for two. Moreover, each brain controlled only one leg.
Medicine could not pass up the opportunity to study such a rare case of dicephales tetrabrachius dipus, and the girls were guinea pigs for many years. For 7 years at the Institute of Pediatrics, USSR Academy of Sciences, they were studied by physiologist Pyotr Anokhin.
Then they were admitted to the Central Research Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedics, where their third leg was amputated so that, as the sisters confessed in an interview in 1989, "it did not attract so much attention." There, the girls were taught to walk with crutches and were given primary education.
In 1964 Masha and Dasha were placed in a boarding school for children with motor problems in Novocherkassk. The leadership of that medical institution treated the sisters as mentally retarded, and the other children of the Krivoshlyapovs despised. The medical staff paid no attention to the chronic nephritis that both girls suffered from. And although at times the pain was so severe that they screamed out loud, the doctors remained deaf.
In 1970, the sisters fled to Moscow. After living for several years in the dental complex of the capital, they turned to the management of the N6 nursing shelter to be allowed to settle there. There they spent the rest of their lives. Shortly before his death, at the invitation of a French company, they visited Paris.
They were brought to the hospital on the morning of April 13, 2003. Masha was diagnosed with acute heart attack. For half an hour, the intensive care doctors tried to "start" the stopped heart.
Defibrillation, adrenaline did not help. 17 hours after Masha's death, Dasha died of intoxication. Dasha was not told that her sister had died. They said she was just "sound asleep." Dasha was getting worse every hour. She complained of headache, weakness. Dasha died at half past four in the morning, in her sleep.
However, not all conjoined twins have such a tragic fate. For example, sisters Abigail and Brittany Hensel- ten-year-old conjoined twins who, physically remaining one, live a completely normal full-fledged life.
They are dicephalic twins, having one torso, two arms, two legs, and three lungs. Each has its own heart and stomach, but the blood supply between them is common. Two spinal cords end in one pelvis, and all organs below the waist are common. Such twins are very rare. Only four pairs of surviving dicephalic twins are recorded in the archives.
Each sister controls an arm and a leg on her side, and each only feels touched on her side of the body. But they coordinate their movements so well that they can walk, run, ride a bike and swim. They learned to sing and play the piano, with Abby playing the right hand and her sister playing the left.
The girls live in a small town in the western United States with their mother - a nurse, father - a carpenter and younger brother and sister. The family runs a farm with five cows, a horse, three dogs and many cats. People living with them in the same town treat them quite normally, and they simply ignore rudeness from strangers. The sisters explain to the curious that they "do not have two heads", but they are, in fact, two different people. This is accentuated by their clothes, which are bought in a regular store and then altered to make two necks.
They have different tastes, interests and personalities: Abby hates milk, and Britty loves it. When they eat the soup, Britty won't let her sister sprinkle crackers on half of her. Abby is more aggressive, Britty is more artistic. Abby is better at math and Britty is better at spelling. When they need to reconcile their desires and make a decision, they flip a coin, prioritize their desired actions, or ask their parents for advice. They usually settle differences through compromise, but this is not always possible. There are disputes and even light fights between them. Once, when they were very young, Britty hit Abby in the head with a rock.
When Britty coughs, Abby automatically covers her mouth with her hand. They were watching TV one day and Abby told Britty, "Are you thinking the same thing as me?" Britty said yes and they went to the bedroom to read the same book.
Parents tell them, "You can do whatever you want." Both want to become doctors when they grow up. Britty says she wants to get married and have children.
Another pair of merged twin sisters, each of whom is quite happy with life and does not lose heart - Laurie and Dori (aka Reba) Shappelborn in Reading, Pennsylvania in 1961. They have grown together with a portion of the skull and scalp, and they have a common blood supply to the brain. Reba is paralyzed from the waist down, and Lori carries her in a special chair. These twins look in different directions and, perhaps, that's why they see life from different perspectives: Lori is sociable, Reba is shy; Laurie loves TV, shopping and candy, but Reba doesn't. Laurie cuts her hair short, and Reba dyes it golden and wears curls.
Each of the sisters has her own career. Laurie worked as a clerk and nanny in the waiting room. Reba dreams of becoming a country singer. Her special accomplishments have been recognized by the Los Angeles Music Incentive Program, which supports young performers. Program Manager Alfred Bowman expressed his admiration for her talent and ability to perform in such difficult conditions.
Gemini believe that in many ways they are the same as everyone else. They have developed effective ways to keep each other's privacy apart. They usually devote themselves to Laurie's career; but now Lori is working part-time and the Reba will have more time to develop her talents. When Reba sings in the studio or at concerts, Laurie becomes passive and lets her sister do her thing.
On the other hand, Laurie wants to get married and have children. And in order to allow Laurie to have a privacy, Reba becomes quiet and her thoughts are carried away, therefore, although she is here physically, in reality she is absent. “The young man gets used to it,” says Laurie. "If he wants to be with me, he has to get used to the fact that she is always there."
And some information about recently born Siamese twins ...
03.10.2001
The doctors of the city of Shanghai are faced with a rare case in medical practice. They found the fetus of "Siamese twins" in the abdominal cavity of a newborn premature girl.
Immediately after the birth of the child, doctors discovered an unknown "solid formation" in her stomach. The CT scanner made it possible to clarify what it really was.
After a successful operation, the fetus of "Siamese twins" with fused spines was removed from a five-day-old girl.
According to experts, the girl's mother was pregnant with triplets. However, for a number of reasons still being specified, two of the three fetuses began to develop in the womb of the third child.
12.07.2002
Two Siamese twin girls were born at the Kirovograd Regional Hospital. The doctor on duty at the pathology department of the children's regional hospital, Vladimir Kolod, said that the newborns were in his department.
According to Kolod, this is the first case of the birth of Siamese twins in his medical practice. “This is my first case in 30 years,” he said.
According to the Committee of Voters of Ukraine, the birth of Siamese twins in Kirovograd is the first case in the history of independent Ukraine. The twins have grown together with their bellies and chest cells. The total weight of the twins is 5 kilograms 300 grams.
23.06.2003 The unique Siamese twin girls were born in the Argentine city of San Juan: they have a common heart, common lungs and genitals, but two heads, stomach and spine. At the same time, together with the twins, a completely healthy boy was born. Doctors believe that this case has no analogues in world practice.
The caesarean section, which allowed the newborns to be delivered to a 25-year-old woman in their poor family, was performed at the Rawson Maternity Hospital. The director of the medical institution, Gonzalo Medina, said that "he cannot say anything about the future of the Siamese twins," although so far they are developing well. "
“Although all metabolic and physiological functions in girls are functioning,” said Medina, “within normal parameters,” he and 23 other doctors involved in unusual births and caring for newborns believe that “any attempt to separate twins is incompatible with saving their lives. "
Summing up, we can conclude that conjoined twins have a lot in common with other twins. They have a close emotional connection, which is further enhanced by the fact that their bodies are connected. And, like other twins, fused twins need to overcome the limitations imposed by this connection - they need to develop their own tastes and talents and become personalities. As you can see from the above small excursion into history, many succeeded and they lived and are living a full, interesting life.