Here’s a look at conjoined twins. Conjoined twins are physically connected to one another at some point on their bodies. Conjoined twins occur once in every 50,000 to 60,000 births, according to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. About 70% of conjoined twins are female. Conjoined twins are identical - they are the same sex. According to the Mayo Clinic, conjoined twins may be joined at any of these areas: chest, abdomen, spine, pelvis, trunk or head. Scientists believe that conjoined twins develop from a single fertilized egg that fails to separate completely as it divides. The term “Siamese twins” originated with Eng and Chang Bunker, a set of conjoined twins who were born in Siam (now Thailand) in 1811. They lived to age 63 and appeared in traveling exhibitions. Chang and Eng both married and fathered a total of 21 children between them. In 1955, neurosurgeon Dr. Harold Voris of Mercy Hospital in Chicago performed the first successful procedure separating conjoined twins. Selected Cases Lea and Tabea BlockBorn August 9, 2003, in Lemgo, Germany, to Peter and Nelly Block. They are joined at the head. On September 16, 2004, the girls are separated. Tabea dies shortly thereafter. Tatiana and Anastasia DogaruBorn January 13, 2004, in Rome to Romanian parents Claudia and Alin Dogaru. They are connected at the head. In August 2007, doctors at University Hospital’s Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital in Cleveland announce that they will not perform a separation of the girls because the surgery is too risky. Jade and Erin BucklesBorn February 26, 2004, to Melissa and Kevin Buckles at National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. They share a liver. On June 19, 2004, they are successfully separated. Regina and Renata Salinas Fierros Born August 2, 2005, in Los Angeles to Sonia Fierros and Federico Salinas. Born facing each other and joined from the lower chest to the pelvis, they are fused in several places including the liver and genitals, and they share a large intestine. Regina is born with one kidney. On June 14, 2006, the twins are separated during a day-long surgery at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. Abbigail and Isabelle CarlsenBorn November 29, 2005, in Fargo, North Dakota, to Amy and Jesse Carlsen. They are joined at the abdomen and chest. On May 12, 2006, a team of 30 people, including 18 surgeons from various specialties at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, perform a successful operation to separate the girls. Abygail and Madysen FittererBorn August 8, 2006, to Stacy and Suzy Fitterer from Bismarck, North Dakota. They are born joined at the abdomen and share a liver. On January 3, 2007, they are separated in a surgery at the Mayo Clinic. Preslee Faith and Kylee Hope WellsBorn October 25, 2008, in Oklahoma City to Stevie Stewart and Kylie Wells. They are attached at the chest and are believed to be the first Native American conjoined twins. On January 19, 2009, they are separated at Children’s Hospital at OU Medical Center in Oklahoma City. On February 19, 2011, Preslee Faith dies. Arthur and Heitor Rocha BrandaoBorn April 2009 in Bahia, Brazil, to Eliane and Delson Rocha. They are joined at the hip and share a bladder, intestines, liver and genitals. The twins only have three legs between them. On February 24, 2015, the five-year-old twins undergo a 15-hour separation surgery after months of preparation. Arthur dies three days later after he suffers cardiac arrest. Angelica and Angelina SabucoBorn August 2009 in the Philippines to Fidel and Ginady Sabuco. They are joined at the chest and abdomen. On November 1, 2011, they are successfully separated after a 10-hour surgery at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital in San Jose, California. Hassan and Hussein BenhaffafBorn December 2, 2009, in London to Angie and Azzedine Benhaffaf from East Cork, Ireland. They are attached at the chest but share no major organs. On April 8, 2010, they undergo a 14-hour separation surgery at Great Ormond Street Hospital. Both survive. Maria and Teresa TapiaBorn April 8, 2010, in the Dominican Republic to Lisandra Sanatis and Marino Tapia. They are joined at the lower chest and abdomen and share a liver, pancreatic glands, and part of their small intestine. On November 8, 2011, they are successfully separated following a 20-hour procedure. Rital and Ritag GabouraBorn September 22, 2010, in Khartoum, Sudan, to Abdelmajeed and Enas Gaboura. They are joined at the head. On August 15, 2011, they are successfully separated after a four-stage operation. Two operations took place in May, one in July and the final operation in August. Joshua and Jacob SpatesBorn January 24, 2011, in Memphis, Tennessee, to Adrienne Spates. They are joined back to back at the pelvis and lower spine, each with separate hearts, heads and limbs. On August 29, 2011, they are successfully separated after a 13-hour surgery. In October 2013, Jacob passes away. Allison June and Amelia Lee TuckerBorn March 1, 2012, to Shellie and Greg Tucker. They are attached at the lower chest and abdomen and share their chest wall, diaphragm, pericardium and liver. On November 7, 2012, they are successfully separated after a seven-hour surgery at Children’s Hospital Philadelphia. A’zhari and A’zhiah LawrenceBorn October 10, 2012, in Virginia to Nachell Jones and Carlos Lawrence. They are joined from the chest to the abdomen and have a conjoined liver. On April 22, 2013, they are successfully separated following 14 hours of surgery. On October 14, 2013, A’zhari passes away. Emmett and Owen EzellBorn July 15, 2013, in Dallas to Jenni and Dave Ezell. They are joined at the liver and the intestine. On August 24, 2013, they are successfully separated. Knatalye Hope and Adeline Faith MataBorn April 11, 2014, in Houston to Elysse and John Matta. They are joined at the chest, sharing a liver, heart lining, diaphragm, intestines and colon. On February 17, 2015, a team of 12 surgeons separate the twins during a 26-hour procedure. Erika and Eva SandovalBorn August 10, 2014, in California to Aida and Arturo Sandoval. They are joined at the lower chest and upper abdomen and share a liver, bladder, two kidneys and three legs. On December 6-7, 2016, they are successfully separated after 17 hours of surgery at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford in California. Acen and Apio AkelloBorn September 23, 2014, in Uganda to Ester Akello. They are joined at the hip and pelvis. On September 3, 2015, more than 30 medical specialists help separate the twins’ spinal cord during a 16-hour surgery at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Ohio. To prepare for the surgery, medical specialists used 3-D printing to create anatomies similar to the girls. Carter and Conner MirabalBorn December 12, 2014, in Jacksonville, Florida, to Michelle Brantley and Bryan Mirabal. They are joined at the sternum and abdomen and share a liver and part of their small intestines. On May 7, 2015, the twins are successfully separated after 12 hours of surgery at Wolfson Children’s Hospital in Florida. Scarlett and Ximena TorresBorn May 16, 2015, in Corpus Christi, Texas, to Silvia Hernandez and Raul Torres. Scarlett and Ximena are connected below the waist, sharing a colon and a bladder. On April 12, 2016, the twins are separated during a 12-hour procedure at the Driscoll Children’s Hospital in Texas. Anias and Jadon McDonaldBorn on September 9, 2015, in Chicago to Nicole and Christian McDonald. They are joined at the head. On October 13-14, 2016, Anias and Jadon are successfully separated after 27 hours of surgery at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore Medical Center in New York. Dawa and Nima PeldenBorn on July 13, 2017, in Bhutan to Bhumchu Zangmo. They are joined at the abdomen. On November 9, 2018, Dawa and Nima are successfully separated after a six-hour surgery at Melbourne Royal Children’s Hospital in Australia. Safa and Marwa UllahBorn January 7, 2017, in Pakistan to Zainab Bibi. They are joined at the head. On February 11, 2019, Safa and Marwa are successfully separated after 50 hours of surgery, that took place over a four month period, at London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital. Ervina and Prefina BangaloBorn June 29, 2018, in the Central African Republic to Ermine Nzutto. They share a skull and a majority of blood vessels. On June 5, 2020, the twins are successfully separated during an operation in Vatican City lasting 18 hours and involving 30 doctors and nurses. Abigail and Micaela BachinskiyBorn December 30, 2019, in Sacramento, California. The twins are joined at the head. On October 23-24, 2020, the twins are successfully separated during a 24-hour operation at UC Davis Children’s Hospital in Sacramento, California. Siphosethu and Amahle TyhalisiBorn January 30, 2021, in South Africa to Ntombikayise Tyhalisi. They are joined at the head. On February 24, 2021, the twins are successfully separated during an operation at Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital in Cape Town. Hassana and HasinaBorn January 12, 2022, in Kaduna, Nigeria to Omar Rayano. They share an abdomen, pelvis, liver, intestines, urinary and reproductive system, and pelvic bones. On May 18, 2023, the twins are successfully separated during an operation at King Abdullah Specialized Children’s Hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. AmieLynn Rose and JamieLynn Rae FinleyBorn October 3, 2022, in Texas to Amanda Arciniega and James Finley. Connected from their chest to their abdomen, they share a liver. On January 23, 2023, the twins are successfully separated during an operation at Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas. Amari and Javar RuffinBorn September 29, 2023, in Philadelphia to Tim and Shaneka Ruffin. They share part of their sternum, diaphragm, abdominal wall, and liver. On August 21, 2024, the twins are successfully separated during an operation at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
Conjoined Twins Fast Facts
TruthLens AI Suggested Headline:
"Understanding Conjoined Twins: Facts, Cases, and Medical Advances"
CNN
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TruthLens AI Summary
Conjoined twins are a rare phenomenon where two individuals are physically connected at some point on their bodies, occurring approximately once in every 50,000 to 60,000 births, with a notable majority being female. These twins are always identical and share the same sex. Medical experts, such as those from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the Mayo Clinic, indicate that conjoined twins may be joined at various locations, including the chest, abdomen, spine, pelvis, trunk, or head. The prevailing scientific theory suggests that conjoined twins develop from a single fertilized egg that fails to fully separate during the early stages of cell division. The term “Siamese twins” is historically rooted in the lives of Eng and Chang Bunker, who were born in Siam (now Thailand) in 1811 and lived to age 63, engaging in public exhibitions while leading relatively normal lives, including marriage and raising children. The first successful separation of conjoined twins was performed in 1955 by Dr. Harold Voris in Chicago, marking a significant advancement in medical procedures related to this condition.
Numerous cases of conjoined twins illustrate the complexity and challenges associated with their separation. For instance, Lea and Tabea Block from Germany were joined at the head and separated in 2004, but Tabea tragically died shortly after. Other notable cases include Tatiana and Anastasia Dogaru, who were connected at the head but were deemed too risky for separation surgery. In contrast, twins like Jade and Erin Buckles and Regina and Renata Salinas Fierros experienced successful separations, albeit with varying degrees of complications. More recent cases, such as those of AmieLynn Rose and JamieLynn Rae Finley in Texas, highlight ongoing advancements in surgical techniques and medical care. As medical technology continues to evolve, the prospects for conjoined twins are improving, with numerous successful separations documented in recent years, underscoring the resilience and adaptability of both the twins and the medical teams involved in their care.
TruthLens AI Analysis
The article provides an overview of conjoined twins, detailing their occurrence, characteristics, historical context, and selected case studies. It aims to inform readers about this unique phenomenon while subtly influencing perceptions and attitudes toward conjoined twins.
Purpose of the Article
The intention behind sharing information about conjoined twins appears to be educational, aiming to raise awareness and foster understanding of this rare condition. By presenting facts and historical anecdotes, the article may seek to promote empathy and acceptance regarding individuals born with such conditions.
Public Perception
By highlighting both the medical complexities and personal stories of conjoined twins, the article aims to shape a compassionate view of their experiences. It may seek to challenge any preconceived notions or stigmas surrounding conjoined twins, advocating for a more inclusive perspective.
Information Omission
While the article focuses on factual information and historical cases, it does not delve into broader societal implications or the emotional experiences of conjoined twins and their families. This omission could suggest a potential bias toward presenting a clinical perspective rather than a holistic view of their lives.
Manipulative Nature
The article is relatively straightforward, relying on factual information rather than emotional manipulation. However, the choice of language may evoke sympathy and curiosity, which could be interpreted as a subtle form of manipulation aimed at fostering a deeper emotional connection to the subject matter.
Trustworthiness of Information
The report appears credible, drawing from recognized medical institutions like the Mayo Clinic and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. However, the reliance on specific case studies may limit its broader applicability, as it does not encompass the diverse experiences of all conjoined twins.
Societal Implications
The publication of such articles can potentially influence societal perceptions of medical anomalies and disabilities, promoting discussions around healthcare, ethics in medical procedures, and societal inclusion. It could also impact public attitudes toward medical research and funding for such conditions.
Target Audience
This article may resonate more with individuals interested in medical science, healthcare professionals, and advocates for disability rights. By focusing on factual content and historical narratives, it aims to engage readers who value knowledge and understanding.
Economic and Market Impact
While this article may not have a direct impact on the stock market or economic conditions, it could influence healthcare industries by raising awareness and encouraging funding for medical research related to conjoined twins. Companies involved in medical technologies or healthcare services might benefit from increased interest in such cases.
Global Context
In the current global landscape, the article aligns with ongoing discussions about medical ethics, healthcare accessibility, and the representation of marginalized groups. It serves as a reminder of the diverse human experiences that exist within society.
Use of Artificial Intelligence
It is challenging to determine if AI was involved in the article's creation. If AI models were used, they might have influenced the organization, language, or narrative style, potentially shaping the reader's understanding and emotional response to the topic.
In conclusion, the article provides a factual and somewhat empathetic view of conjoined twins, aiming to educate the public while promoting a compassionate understanding of their experiences. The reliability of the content is supported by credible sources, although it could benefit from a more comprehensive exploration of the emotional and societal aspects of being conjoined.