02 August,2016 06:00 PM IST | | Rupsa Chakraborty
While conjoined twins are rare in themselves, this pair poses a daunting challenge for doctors because of the way they are fused, sharing just one heart between them
Less than a week after their birth, the conjoined twins at Sion Hospital face the biggest test of their lives.
The conjoined twins were born with two heads and one heart
While conjoined twins are rare in themselves, this pair poses a daunting challenge for doctors because of the way they are fused, sharing just one heart between them. Because of this, doctors have cautioned that only one of the two infants will survive the separation procedure, and even the survivor will have disabilities. But the heart is not the only vital organ that the twins share, as doctors have already confirmed they also share kidneys and a pelvis.
The twins were born to a couple who live in a Sion chawl and has two other kids. As no prenatal exam was done, the couple had no idea about the babies' condition until the delivery on July 27.
The twins will now undergo a series of tests so doctors can understand their complicated biology and plan the surgery accordingly. A senior doctor from Jaslok Hospital will conduct somatic testing to map their nervous system; this test will be done at Sion Hospital itself, as the children are too vulnerable to be shifted. The hospital has also approached a Baroda-based agency to conduct 3D-mapping of the internal organs, as the facility lacks CT and MRI technologies. Currently, a committee of experts from the neurology, paediatric and cardiology departments is monitoring the twins' health.
"The somatic testing will help us get better insight. They are completely fused in the abdomen. So, before we decide on the surgery, we have to be thorough with their biology," said Dr Paras Kothari, head of the paediatric department at Sion Hospital.
