One doctor will oversee the team and coordinate all parts of the plan. In most cases, doctors will do the separation surgery after your twins are at least 3 months old. This allows time for:. In some cases, conjoined twins need to be separated before they are 3 months old because of a health emergency or a problem that cannot wait.
Two complete teams work together very closely to separate twins. Each team includes surgeons, anesthesiologists and nurses. Whether they stay connected or are separated, your twins will need long-term follow-up visits during childhood and into their early adult years.
We care for any long-term medical issues they might have. Follow-up care will depend on the type of conjoined twins they are and other health issues they may have. If you have questions about prenatal diagnosis or treatment options for conjoined twins, call our Prenatal Diagnosis and Treatment Program at Providers: see how to refer a patient. Financial assistance for medically necessary services is based on family income and hospital resources and is provided to children under age 21 whose primary residence is in Washington, Alaska, Montana or Idaho.
For more information, see Website Privacy. Skip to navigation menu Skip to content. High Priority Alert. Close alert. Informational Alert. Home Conditions. Conditions Conjoined Twins. If you have a referral, call to schedule an appointment.
How to schedule If this is a medical emergency, call Meet the Prenatal Diagnosis and Treatment team. Meet the Pediatric General and Thoracic Surgery team. Consultations providers only : Call Providers, read how to refer patients. What are conjoined twins? Usually, the connection is more complex. In some cases, children may share: Vital organs, like 1 heart Many structures, like several parts of the digestive , genital and urinary systems A large portion of the body, like all of the lower body Part of the brain and skull What causes conjoined twins?
There are 2 ideas about what causes conjoined twinning: The egg divides late and does not divide all the way. The egg divides but then joins back together. Compassionate care, starting with diagnosis Usually, parents find that their twins are conjoined when the mother has an ultrasound during pregnancy. Approximately 75 percent of conjoined twins are joined at least partially in the chest and share organs with one another.
If they have separate sets of organs, chances for surgery and survival are greater than if they share the same organs. As a rule, shared heart conjoined twins cannot be separated.
Doctors at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia have separated 25 sets of conjoined twins and have managed the care of many others whose separation was not surgically possible. Conjoined twins shown on 3D ultrasound Conjoined twins are typically diagnosed early in pregnancy with prenatal ultrasound.
The optimal evaluation period for additional prenatal testing is after 18 weeks' gestation. A thorough prenatal evaluation is particularly important for conjoined twins, as the location and extent of where the twins are joined and what organs are shared plays a crucial role in deciding whether the twins will be separable.
Expectant mothers visiting the Center for Fetal Diagnosis and Treatment at CHOP will undergo a full day of advanced imaging to collect a detailed picture of the shared organs and any associated anomalies. Prenatal diagnosis will help identify the optimal treatment and delivery plan, and potential for separation after birth.
Indicators of conjoined twins include lack of a separating membrane between the twins, inability to separate the fetal bodies, and constant position of the fetal heads.
At the end of the day, expectant parents will meet with a multidisciplinary team to discuss the results of your tests, and outline all options for prenatal management, delivery and treatment so that your family can make an informed decision about how to move forward. After the visit, our team will also contact your referring physician to provide details about the consultation.
Thoracopagus: the most common type of conjoined twin, which along with omphalopagus, represents about 75 percent of cases. The two babies lie face to face and share a common sternum, diaphragm and upper abdominal wall. In cases of conjoined hearts at ventricular pumping chamber level, there are no known survivors.
Omphalopagus: the least-complicated connection, usually considered a subgroup of thoracopagus. The babies face one another and are joined at the anterior abdominal wall from xiphoid to umbilicus. The peritoneal cavity of one tends to be joined with the other, but upper intestinal tracts are usually separate. Conjoined twinning can't be attributed to genetics, the mother's behavior, trauma, a virus, illness, environmental issues or any other factors known at this time.
Since it's not known what causes the situation that produces conjoined twins, there's also no known way to prevent it from happening. Monozygotic twinning — and conjoined twinning — remain somewhat of an unexplained mystery.
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These choices will be signaled globally to our partners and will not affect browsing data. We and our partners process data to: Actively scan device characteristics for identification. I Accept Show Purposes. Types of Conjoined Twins. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Sign Up. What are your concerns? They are born joined at the abdomen and share a liver. January 3, - Separated in a surgery at the Mayo Clinic.
They are attached at the chest and are believed to be the first Native American conjoined twins. Both survive but are listed in critical condition after the surgery. They are joined at the hip and share a bladder, intestines, liver and genitals. The twins only have three legs between them. February 24, - The five-year-old twins undergo a hour separation surgery after months of preparation.
Arthur dies three days later after he suffers cardiac arrest. They are joined at the chest and abdomen. They are attached at the chest but share no major organs. Both survive. They are joined at the lower chest and abdomen and share a liver, pancreatic glands, and part of their small intestine. November 8, - Are successfully separated following a hour procedure.
They are joined back to back at the pelvis and lower spine, each with separate hearts, heads and limbs. August 29, - Are successfully separated after a hour surgery. October - Jacob Spates passes away. The cause of his death is not released.
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