The present study aims to report our experience in conjoined twin separation surgery in Assuit university and pediatric hospital, Assiut university, Assiut, Egypt over a period of 20 years.
A conjoined twin is a subset of monozygotic twin gestation. It's a rare phenomenon with an incidence of 1 in 50,000 to 1:100,000 births with the higher incidence in Africa and Southwest Asia. Based on the terminology proposed by Spencer and colleagues, conjoined twins are classified according to the most prominent site of conjunction into three major groups; First, twins with a ventral union; \[cephalopagus (head), thoracopagus (Thorax), omphalopagus (Abdomen) and ischiopagus (pelvis)\]. Second; twins with a dorsal union; \[pygopagus (sacrum), rachipagus (spine, back) and craniopagus (cranium)\] and lastly; twins with a lateral union that is referred to as parapagus (side). Depending on the aspect of the embryonic disc, the most common types are thoracopagus (19%). Surgical separation of conjoined twins is extremely challenging taking in consideration the high perioperative risk. The low incidence of such surgeries and anatomical variations in each type of conjoined twins makes each separation surgery a unique experience.
Study Type
OBSERVATIONAL
Enrollment
4
This study included 4 case reports on conjoined twins (CT), 2 male and three female patients; 3 of them were parasitic and one was conjoined. We operated upon 2 parasitic and one conjoined. The 1st case died preoperatively.
Success of the conjoined twin separation surgery
The operative details of the separation surgery were written in details and the separation process was showen in pictures.
Time frame: For each case was the 1 week survival
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