2007

This is a look at the 20 sets of births and twin separations (12 sets of girls, three sets of boys, five unknown gender) we have seen reported on the Web during the current calendar year. Cases are shown in reverse chronological order:

Twin girls, Myla and Myka Praile, are born to parents Melissa and Eugene Praile in Tacurong, Sultan Kudarat, Malaysia on September 25 and successfully separated on October 3. The twins were joined in the lower abdomen and shared a portion of their intestines.

Conjoined sisters who share a heart and liver are born on Sept. 24 in Kansas City, Missiouri to and are named Joy and Joya. The sisters are not candidates for separation and have a difficult prognosis but surprised doctors by being born alive. Sadly, the twin girls do both pass away on October 1.

Twins of unknown gender are born to parents Sopiah Daud and Norhisyam Mohamad in Kangar, Malaysia on Sept. 22. The twins are born conjoined at the abdomen and buttocks and tests had to be conducted to determine whether they shared any internal organs. Because of the conjoinment, the babies private parts were not visible so sexes of the twins still had to be determined.

A successful surgery separates five-month-old twin boys, Marek and Michal Muellerova in Slovakia on Sept. 15. It was the first successful conjoined twin separation in Slovakia since 2000 and just the second in that nation's history. More on this surgery.

Conjoined girls connected at the chest and abdomoen are born on Sept. 3 to Hashu Begum. Twinstuff news update

Twin girls sharing a heart and live are born in Ludhiana, India on August 9 to parents Sabri and Abdul Rashid who already had three other girls. The parents didn't learn they were going to have conjoined twins until the 34th week of her pregnancy. More on the births of these twins who can not be separated.

Twin omphalopagus boys sharing one heart are named Waris A and Waris B after being born on July 24 to labourer Intezar Ali of Dhoraywala in Shujabad, Pakistan. The twins are sent to a children's hospital in Lahore, Pakistan on August 2 where it is determined they can not be separated for at least a year and possibly with only one twin surviving.

Dicephalus tetrabrachius twin girls are born to Geeta and Ramesh of Indalpur Village, India, on July 4. Local villagers regard the twins as an incarnation of the Hindu goddess Devi and devotees have traveled for miles to shower them with praise and offerings. Their father Ramesh has refused to consider having them separated.

Thoracopagus or omphalopagus twin girls are born to Alfiea Farrell and Walwyn Joseph in St. John's, Antigua on July 2. They are the island nation's first recorded conjoined twins. Sadly, the girls passed away at 4:45 p.m. on July 5.

Week-old omphalopagus twins undergo successful separation at Kinderspital in Zürich, Switzerland on June 29. No details about the babies, not even their sex, have been released.

Thoracopagus twin girls with one heart are born at the Hospital de Clínicas in Montevideo, Uruguay on June 27 to an unnamed 39-year-old mother of three. The girls' maternal grandmother, Justa Olivera, begs surgeons to attempt to save at least one of the twins.

Conjoined twins are born on May 27 in Rajasthan, India to parents named Kalu Ram and Phoolwati who were not aware until their twins birth that their twins were conjoined according to this news report which was discussing the possiblity of separation.

Three-day-old conjoined twin girls are successfully separated on May 15 in The Phillipines. Mary Jane (Gabby) and Mary Kris (Rose) Atuel were born joined together at the abdomen on May 12 at the Gov Celestino Gallares Memorial Hospital (GCGMH) in Tagbilaran City. Their separation surgery takes just 22 minutes.

A medical first as dicephalus twins are born in Vietnam with just one set of internal organs. The twin girls, born in Hai Duong on May 9, have two heads, two arms and two legs and are given one name, Nguyen Thi Hoa. They pass away in Hanoi on May 28.

On April 17, Emily and Constanza Zambra Lobos are born in Chile but survive just three days.

Doctors at Hospital Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes in Sucre, Colombia reveal on March 21 that a 14-year-old girl is carrying conjoined twins. The girl has elected to continue with the pregnancy and will undergo a cesarean section in July. Her mother, Ana Suárez, has asked for help from the community in caring for the twins and for her daughter.

Thoracopagus twin boys sharing a liver, pericardium and parts of their intestines are born in Santiago, Chile on March 19. These might be the twins who are successfully separated on Sept. 30

Conjoined twins of unknown gender are born in China on March 15. The twins have some type of congenital heart disease and were scheduled to be separated at No. 1 Hospital Affiliated to Hebei Medical University in Shijiazhuang, capital of northern China’s Hebei Province in July.

Omphalopagus twin girls are born to 26-year-old Nabanita Maity and her husband Asish in Jhargram, India, on March 5. The twins are separated at NRS Medical College on April 18. Sadly, one twin dies the following day, while the other succumbs on May 19.

Thoracopagus twin girls are born in Gazipur, Bangladesh to Bilkis Begum and Joinal Abedin on February 26. Born sharing an eight-chambered heart, they pass away March 26 at the Dhaka Medical College and Hospital.

[Back to Chronological Timeline of Conjoined Twins Timeline]