Parents try to abandon conjoined twins
A hospital in New Delhi is attempting to convince the parents of two conjoined 35-day-old boys to take them home instead of abandoning them, a news report said today.
The unnamed babies have a fused liver, bladder, intestines and genital organs, although their heads, chests and hearts are separate, The Hindustan Times reported.
“They are symmetrically fused and both babies are quite healthy,” the newspaper quoted paediatric surgeon Dr D K Gupta as saying.
Together, they weigh 7lb 5oz, he said.
Doctors are trying to convince the family to take the twins home, the newspaper said.
“The mother came here once and held them but she does not want them,” senior resident Dr Arbinder Singhal said. “We are speaking to the family but we have to make sure the boys will be looked after well before sending them away.”
Dr Gupta told the newspaper that surgery to separate the twins was not advisable because it was too risky.
“Each leg has a separate set of nerves linked to the two independent nervous systems, which would mean they can have only one leg each on operation,” Gupta said. “The surgery would (also) cause extreme deformity.”
Conjoined twins occur once in every 150,000 to 200,000 live births.
About 40% to 60% of conjoined twins are stillborn and 35% survive 24 hours or less. Those who survive longer are often plagued by medical complications.
The babies are keeping their nurses at the hospital busy.
“They want someone to hold them all the time and cry the loudest in the ward,” said one a nurse.
