• Question: The conjoined twins that were separately recently are amazing. How long have doctors had the technology and knowledge to be able to do this?

    Asked by sammy to Betul, Bridget, Ceri-Wyn, Laurel, Maria on 21 Jun 2010 in Categories: .
    • Photo: Bridget Waller

      Bridget Waller answered on 21 Jun 2010:

      I think similar operations have been attempted for a very long time, but it is still a very risky procedure. I agree that it is amazing though, incredible.

    • Photo: Ceri-Wyn Thomas

      Ceri-Wyn Thomas answered on 21 Jun 2010:

      Apparently doctors have been carrying out operations to separate conjoined twins for over a century! The earliest evidence I can find of the first successful operation comes from 1689 where two twins were joined at the chest. Even today conjoined twin separation is one of the most difficult surgical procedures for surgeons to carry out and they are not always successful.
      A lot depends on where two people are joined and what organs they share.

    • Photo: Betul Arslan

      Betul Arslan answered on 21 Jun 2010:

      Was this on the news in UK? I have not heard of it here. It’s gotta be a somewhat new technology because I remember reading some unfortunate news back in the day (late 90s) about how one of the twin dies when that sort of separation occurs…

    • Photo: Laurel Fogarty

      Laurel Fogarty answered on 21 Jun 2010:

      The earliest report of a successful separation of conjoined twins seems to be hotly debated on the internet. I think whether surgeons are successful or not depends on what organs are shared by the twins. The more that are shared the more difficult and risky the surgery will be and the more recently they will have been able to do the procedure- medicine is getting better and better.

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