The five-day-old conjoined twins that doctors hoped would beat all odds and survive have died. The twins passed away Monday at JK Lon hospital in Jaipur where they were admitted in neonatal intensive care unit.
“The twins were facing problems in breathing and were put on ventilators. Their condition started deteriorating since last night. They were finding it difficult to take oxygen even though the doctors increased the oxygen pressure from the ventilator. They died at around 3.45 pm today,” JK Lon hospital superintendent Dr SD Sharma said.
Two-headed boy
A woman gave birth to a two-headed baby boy on July 24 in the district hospital at Tonk. Apparently lack of proper medical facilities made it difficult to detect the condition during sonography tests.The conjoined twins born by Caesarean section were rushed to JK Lon for a check-up soon after birth.
The baby suffered from the condition dicephalic parapagus – an extremely unusual form of twin conjoinment where only a single body develops. The little one was born with two heads, nervous systems and backbones which joined at the pelvis, but only one heart, ribcage and shoulder girdle.
During the course of treatment, doctors conducted various tests including sonography to learn more about their complex organs. “In the tests we found that the twins had two food pipes and two respiratory tubes but one heart and one stomach. So there was a different vasculature and circulation system in the twins,” the doctor said.
According to the medics they were unable to separate the newborn because it only has one set of vital organs. They did their level best to save the twins by providing them with pressure support to regulate blood pressure. However, their circulation system failed and there was also respiratory depression. Moreover, the heart was also not pumping blood properly.
Dr Sharma said, “They had one common heart but had two brains. In such cases, the twins do not survive often.”
Dicephalic Parapagus: Rare medical condition
Dicephalic Parapagus is a rare medical condition with very few cases reported over the years. This was the second in the country, the first registered in Jabalpur, where the conjoined twins had died within hours of birth.
One of the most famous examples of dicephalic parapagus is Abigail and Brittany Hensel. The twins each have a separate head, but also have conjoined bodies. The Hensel twins have two hearts, two stomachs, four lungs, and other non-shared organs.
