In Brazil, surgeons have succeeded in separating Siamese: children aged 3 years were connected by the head and their brains had fused.
During a pregnancy, it can happen that two twins merge and are connected by the chest, hips or head. This is a very rare anomaly, affecting about one in 60,000 births. Head-connected infants, which make up about 5% of cases, usually die at birth.
In Brazil, twins managed to survive by having their brains connected for three years. Eventually, they were operated on by an international surgical team.
Siamese successfully separated
To be separated, the twins underwent seven operations , the last of which lasted 27 consecutive hours. To prepare for this procedure, the surgeons trained for months in a virtual operating room. A total of 100 medical personnel were mobilized.
“In a way, these operations are considered the most difficult of our time, and performing them was a bit like walking a man on Mars ,” said Dr. Noor ul Owase Jeelani, who led the study. ‘operation.
The operation was funded by the Gemini Untwined charity, which was founded in 2018 to treat skull-bound conjoined conjoined twins . Thanks to this association, five other operations of the same type have been organised. The procedure in Brazil was the one with the highest risk because although the boys’ vital organs were separated, they were connected by vital veins in the brain.
Fortunately, everything went very well for the Siamese who are now separated. They are in good health and are recovering in hospital.
