The twin girls born in Java, Indonesia have a rare condition which means they are joined at the upper torso and share a single heart. The two sisters have a very rare condition known as thoracopagus which means they are joined at the upper torso and have just one heart between them. Such cases are beleived to be inoperable, and specialists say it is nearly impossible to separate the girls and save both babies’ lives.
(pictured) are ‘nearly impossible’ to separate successfully
Although the doctors from Soetomo Hospital where they
were born have carried out 54 separation surgeries in the
past, the twins cannot be torn apart because they share
vital organs. And only two of those surgeries failed
because of “anatomy and heart abnormalities in the
babies”.
have carried out 54 separation surgeries in the past
Conjoined twins is a rare phenomenon. The occurrence is
estimated to range from 1 in 49,000 births to 1 in 189,000
births, with a somewhat higher incidence in Southwest
Asia, Africa and Brazil. Approximately half are stillborn,
and a smaller fraction of pairs born alive have
abnormalities incompatible with life.
Conjoined twins occur about once in every 200,000 live
births
The condition is more frequently found among females.
Although there are many different types, the most
common form of conjoined twins is thoracopagus which
means they are combined at the upper torso like the
baby girls in Indonesia.
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