- 1. How are Siamese twins formed?
- 2. What parts of the body can be joined?
- 3. Is it possible to separate Siamese twins?
- 4. Are you at risk for one of the twins?
Siamese twins are identical twins that were born glued to each other in one or more regions of the body, such as a head, trunk or shoulders, for example, and may even share organs, such as heart, lung, intestine and brain.
The birth of Siamese twins is rare, however, due to genetic factors, during the fertilization process there may be no separation of the embryo at the appropriate time, which leads to the birth of Siamese twins.
1. How are Siamese twins formed?
Siamese twins happen when an egg is fertilized twice, not separating properly into two. After fertilization, it is expected that the egg will split in two for a maximum of 12 days. However, due to genetic factors, the cell division process is compromised, with late division. The later the division occurs, the greater the chance that the twins will share organs and / or members.
In some cases, Siamese twins can be detected during pregnancy by performing routine ultrasounds.
2. What parts of the body can be joined?
There are different parts of the body that can be shared by Siamese twins, which depend on the region where the twins are connected, such as:
- Shoulder; Head; Waist, hip or pelvis; Chest or belly; Back or base of spine.
In addition, there are many cases where the siblings share a single trunk and a set of lower limbs, so there is a sharing of organs among them, such as heart, brain, intestine and lung, depending on how the twins are connected to each other.
3. Is it possible to separate Siamese twins?
By performing surgeries it is possible to separate the Siamese twins, and the complexity of the surgery depends on the extent of the shared body regions. See how the surgery is done to separate Siamese twins.
It has already been possible to separate Siamese twins joined by the head, pelvis, base of the spine, chest, abdomen and pelvis, but these are surgeries that represent great risks for the brothers, especially if they share organs with each other. If surgery is not possible or if the twins choose to remain together, they can live together for many years, leading as normal a life as possible.
4. Are you at risk for one of the twins?
Depending on the organ that is shared, one of the twins can be harmed due to the greater use of the organ by the other. In order to prevent one of the twins from suffering consequences, it is recommended to perform surgery to separate the twins.
However, this is a delicate procedure and the complexity of which varies according to the limb and the organ shared by the babies.
