Indore: Conjoined Twins In Critical Condition, Doctor Say Survival Chances Extremely Low

Indore (Madhya Pradesh): A baby girl born with two heads at Maharaja Tukojirao Hospital (MTH) in Indore on Wednesday is currently in critical condition and has been placed on ventilator support. A dedicated team of doctors is making every effort to save her, though they acknowledge the survival rate in such cases is less than 0.1%. Such cases, known medically as parapagusdicephalus, occur in approximately one in every 200,000 births.

Before delivery, the parents believed they were expecting twins, as earlier ultrasounds did not detect the condition. The baby has one body but two heads, with shared vital organs including lungs, limbs, and partially developed hearts.

According to Dr Preeti Malpani, such deformities are typically caused by genetic abnormalities. She noted that the mother, a resident of Dewas, had a previous miscarriage at three months, which also appears to have been due to genetic reasons. In most such cases, the foetus either aborts naturally or is stillborn. Even when born alive, babies with this condition rarely survive beyond a few hours or days.

Dr Nilesh Jain, a paediatric specialist, revealed that while the baby weighs a healthy 2.8 kg, she has two hearts, one of which is underdeveloped, and the other has significant congenital defects. The functional heart has open valves and a large hole, and it is attempting to pump blood to two separate brains, placing extreme stress on the circulatory system.

Doctors have ruled out the possibility of separating the two heads, as they are joined at the neck. Dr Malpani confirmed that surgical separation is impossible in this case, unlike a few rare instances in India where conjoined twins were successfully separated but only when the heads were not involved.

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