Wednesday, October 19, 2011

UK Surgeons Separate Twins Girls Joined at Head

BY JULIA KUSHELL


http://apnews.excite.com/article/20110919/D9PRNV1G0.html


(AP) Undated handout photo released Sunday Sept.18, 2011 by British charity Facing the World of...

19 comments:

Emory said...

I think this is a very touching story These twins that were joined together by thir heads since birth were given a second chance. This second chance allowed them to be in two different areas instead of being together. I try putting myself in their shoes and cannot bear to think how I would have felt. These twins were very lucky because the surgery was very risky.

Julia K. said...

I think that the story is amazing. It shows just like Emory said, that they were so lucky. The most interesting part of the article is that the after the surgery the surgeons put balloons in their heads to make their head expand to make their brains have room. When I was reading this online I saw the title. I thought that it could be really sad at the end. But thankfully it wasn't.

Alex G. said...

I thought this article was really inspiring. It is amazing that even though the chances were very risky they took the chance and is paid off. As I was reading this article I was mostly thinking about what the twins thought but I also thought of what the parents must of thought, They must have been very scared. I am so happy the twins survived.

Ryan said...

I think that this article was one of the most interesting articles I have read on this blog. I think that the steps to make the babies heads come apart is so interesting. I think that it is also very interesting how different the children looked after the operation. I am glad that they are alright, and that they survived the high risk operation.

Lola said...

Wow... I feel so sorry for these girls. Although they were successfully separated, they will probably have serious brain disorders later in life. Most twins born like this don't live very long, and when they do they have horrible problems. I hope that in future years we can prevent this.

will said...

The the technology that hospitals that are given the correct funding and charitable donations is just truely amazing, and this article gives proof of what can be done in the medical world.

Sinclaire said...

That is such an amazing article! I never knew that could happen, and it's amazing that they were able to be separated! It must be very scary to give birth to twins and then realize that they are joined at the head. Those twins were very lucky that they got separated because it was a very risky surgery. This was a very touching article!

Esther said...

This is amazing that there are even kinds of surgery that can correct this! The twins are lucky that the surgery went well, and it's good they will be able to live normal lives.

Cypress said...

Oh my goodness! This is such a moving article! This really makes me grateful for what I have. I agree with Emory and Julia, they were so fortunate. I hope they don't have serious brain problems when they are older, but it could be very likely. This could have been so sad, and I am very glad that the twins survived.

Kevin said...

I've read about these things, but I've never seen a case where they were joined at their heads. The surgery must have been very complex, high-tech, and definitely risky to undo these types of joint babies. I can't imagine what the parents were going through when they thought that even though there was some hope, they would probably either die or be permanently deformed.

Ava D. said...

That is so amazing! To think that the odds are 2.5 million that those two girls were joined together, it is amazing that they were able to separate. They will probably have brain disorders, and it was by no fault of their own. I feel bad for them!

Cami said...

I think it is a miracle that these children survived. I think it was really amazing that the doctors could do this, and I think they must have been very nervous, because they said that a lot of things can go wrong. Like Ryan said, I thought it was really interesting how different they looked after the surgery. The fact that those doctors could do that is so cool. I think it was a really nice thing they did for the kids because I would feel so bad for them trying to be normal kids attached to someone else by the head. My question was, how would they walk? Because I don't think they could both walk at the same time, so would one of them hang, then they other person walks, then they trade, or something like that? I don't know, I was just wondering.

Amanda said...

This article was very interesting and moving because I thought something really bad was going to happen to the twin girls. What are the odds of this happening? In every 2.5 million births there is a case like this. After it said that it was risky not getting the surgery and getting it, I thought, "Oh no." But these twin girls were very lucky because their surgery went very well.

Caroline said...

Wow, joined at the head. I have heard of twins that have lived like that for there whole life, but I don't think they could manage that if they were conjoined at the head. As many people have said, they were lucky, because the head is a vulnerable place. They could have been killed. Also, what an interesting story to have when you are older. I agree that the surgery was very risky, but it was also risky to leave them like that. Not only would they have problems with their hearts functioning, they would probably have trouble with everyday life. Also, like Cami said, they did look different at the end of the surgery, I wonder why.These twins will probably have a special connection their whole life, because they know that they were joined at the head when they were so young.

David said...

After their operations, the twins could actually see each other for the first time. Even though separating the twins was extremely dangerous, it was necessary to save their lives. The article says that Ritag’s heart was already failing. Also, it’s very rare for twins to survive with this condition. I’m glad the operation was a success. It’s sad to think about twins who are born with this condition who don’t get any help.

Luca said...

This was an interesting story. It was very dangerous to separate the twins, but the other consequence would be just as bad. It is like the Latin saying, a precipice in front, wolves behind. Meaning that they were stuck between two difficult options. Luckily it turned out all right, but it might have gone wrong.

Ethan said...

I wonder how they managed to split the two babies. It is a possibility that they might have brain problems in the future part of it might've been damaged during the surgery. I wonder how it would feel to have a baby stuck on your head. It would be pretty cool if their brains were connected so that they were like 1 person with 2 bodies. Since they are twins, they have nearly identical DNA, and might be able to coordinate their brains and maybe synchronize their hearts to stop heart failure. They would be able to do things twice as fast! This is probably impossible but it is kind of cool to think about it.

Emma said...

This story is so nice. It is so wonderful that the surgery was successful and the girls were fine. I found out that only about 1 in 2,500,000 pairs of twins are born with craniopagus.

Gillian said...

WOW. I have never heard of such a thing before and now I am really stunned. Those are some really lucky girls. I think the most interesting part was that they flew the twins to England, instead of the doctors to the twins. If pregnant women shouldn't go on planes, then why should 10 month old twins who are joined at the head go on one?