Siamese twins and their stories

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:41

Twins fused together have been born at all times. This is reflected in legends and myths. In ancient Rome, this deity is the Two-faced Janus, in Greek mythology, these are centaurs. In the Middle Ages, the appearance of such children was considered the machinations of the devil and was a bad omen. Often the mother of the twins was accused of having sinned with the devil.

The phenomenon got its modern name "Siamese twins" in 1911 in honor of the twins Chang and Eng Bunker, born in Siam (modern Thailand). The names Chang and Eng mean "right" and "left" in Thai.

Scientists distinguish about 15 types of such pathologies. Thoracopagi are twins fused in the chest area, craniopagi have a common skull, cephalopagi have common heads, parapagi are fused laterally.

Causes of occurrence

The first information about Siamese twins came to us from Armenia. They date back to 975. At different times, there were a variety of explanations for this phenomenon.

So, in the 15th century, the appearance of girls fused with their heads was explained by the fact that, being pregnant, the mother bumped her head with another girl. Famous physician of the 17th century. Ambroise Pare explained thatsuch children can be born to a woman with a uterus that is too small. This happens if a woman wears very tight underwear or does not sit properly during pregnancy.

Modern science talks about the pathology of egg development. Siamese twins are identical. In a normal multiple pregnancy, the common egg splits into two from the 3rd to 8th day after conception. If this separation happens after the 13th day, then there is an incorrect development and various accretion.

The final reasons for this have not yet been clarified. There are hypotheses of genetic origin, influence of toxic substances and even psychiatric influence.

Chang and Eng

Chang and Eng Bunker were born in Thailand (Siam) in 1811. They were connected by a cartilaginous bridge in the chest area. Over time, the jumper stretched a little, and by the age of 11 they could already walk and sit side by side. At the age of 17, they were taken from Thailand to the United States and began to participate in circus performances and various shows.

The brothers toured many countries. They were good at running and swimming. Their bodies worked in the same rhythm. The tastes of the brothers were the same. In 1845 they started a family. Their wives were two sisters. Chang had 10 children, and Eng had 12. According to them, they quarreled only once in their lives. The reason for the quarrel was the temperature of the bathing water. One of the brothers felt the water was too cold, and the other too warm. These are Siamese twins, whose photos went around all the newspapers and magazines of that time.

The brothers lived to be 63 years old. In 1874 Chang died of pneumonia. Eng died two hours later from cadaveric poisoning.

Hilton sisters

Sisters Daisy and Violetta were born in 1908 in Brighton (England). They fused at the hips and shared a common circulatory system. Their mother was unmarried and worked as a barmaid. Unable to support such children, she practically sold them to the owner of the establishment, Mary Hilton. Under the tutelage of Hilton, girls, starting from the age of 3, toured Europe and the USA. All the money they earned was taken by their guardians, and it wasn't until 1931 that they managed to break free from slavery.

According to the court, they managed to get $100,000 in compensation. The sisters began to participate in their own show, starred in a film about themselves, which was called "Freaks". Each of them had many novels, but marriages turned out to be very short-lived. In 1969, the twins were found dead at home. They died from the Hong Kong flu. An examination determined that Daisy was the first to die. Violetta died three days later.

Dasha and Masha Krivoshlyapov

Dasha and Masha were born in 1950. They had two heads, four arms, one body, three legs. Each brain controlled only one leg. Mom was told that the children were born dead, but she still managed to see them. She lost her mind from the shock. The father, who worked as a driver in the department of Lavrenty Beria, signed the necessary documents and left his daughters forever. The girls saw their mother for the first timeonly after 35 years. After the birth of 7 years, Academician Anokhin studied them at the Institute of Pediatrics, and subsequently they were transferred to the Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedics, where their third leg was amputated.

There they received their primary education and learned to walk on crutches. The girls changed several boarding schools and nursing homes. They practically lived in poverty and experienced constant humiliation and persecution. Only in 1989 did they receive an apartment in Moscow. With age, many he alth problems arose, the disease of alcoholism affected. In 2003 Masha had an acute heart attack and she died. After 17 hours, Dasha also died.

Zita and Gita

Siamese twins Zita and Gita Rezakhanov were born in 1991 in Kyrgyzstan. The girls had three legs and a common pelvis. In 2003 in Moscow in the hospital No. 13 named after. Filatov had a successful separation operation. The team of surgeons was led by Academician Anatoly Isakov. The operation lasted 10 hours. The difficulty was that unpaired organs had to be divided as well. Separation of Siamese twins was successful.

After the separation operation, one of Zita's legs was replaced with a prosthesis. The girls spent three years in Moscow. Zita had a lot of he alth problems. Since 2012, she has been in the hospital under the supervision of doctors. She underwent the most complicated operation at once by three specialists: a proctologist, a nephrologist and a gynecologist. Gita's condition was stable.

In 2014, the twins returned to Kyrgyzstan. Zita's he alth continued to deteriorate,she was blind in one eye. In 2015, Zita Rezakhanova died. The mother of the twins, Zumriyat Rezakhanova, says that before her death, Zita took a lot of selfies with a smile and posted them on Instagram. Gita was very upset by the death of her sister. Now she is studying at the Islamic College in Kyrgyzstan and is preparing to become an Arabic teacher. She says that Zita bequeathed her to live for her too.

Hensel Sisters

Abigail and Brittany Hensel were born in 1990 in the US state of Minnesota. They have two arms, two legs and three lungs. Each of the sisters has their own stomach and heart, but the blood circulation is the same. Below the waist, all the organs of the sisters are common. Each of them feels touched only on their half of the body. They can run, jump, play the piano, drive a car. Each of the twins plays with their own hand. While remaining one, the sisters live a fulfilling life.

Bijani Sisters

Ladan and Lale Bijani from Iran were twins with fused heads. They were born in 1974, graduated from the university in Tehran, received law degrees. They turned to Singaporean surgeon Keith Goh, who had experience with similar operations, with a request to separate them. Doctors warned the sisters about the risks involved in this operation, but the girls insisted.

Their decision was widely discussed in the media. The girls underwent a full psychiatric examination within six months, and in 2003 they underwent surgery. It was attended by 28 surgeons and about a hundred people of junior staff. It wasa special chair was created for them, since the operation had to be done in a sitting position. Their brains grew together and had a common vein. The operation lasted two days. The doctors worked in shifts. After the operation, the girls were in critical condition due to blood loss as a result of surgical complications. Ladan died at 2.30 pm, Lale died at 4.00 pm.

Ronnie and Donnie Galion

Ronnie and Donnie were born in 1951 in Dayton, Ohio, USA. They have two heads, two pairs of arms, two pairs of legs, two hearts, two stomachs. However, the torso from the sternum to the groin is one whole. It is impossible to separate them. They performed in shows at fairs across the country. Their income allowed the family to lead a decent life. In 1991 they bought a house and retired. As people who know them well say, they have different characters. Ronnie is sociable, talkative, and Donnie is more reserved and silent.

In 2009, the brothers fell ill. But with the help of doctors, everything ended well.

Erin and Abby Delaney

In October 2015, American surgeons performed a unique operation to separate 13-month-old Siamese twins Erin and Abby Delaney. The girls were born with fused heads. The surgeons reported the results of the operation only five months later, when it became clear that everything ended well. The operation itself in this case is not a one-time process. The procedure dragged on for almost a year.

The fact is that the girls had a common skull. And the doctors used a special apparatus that pushed the skulls apart a few millimeters a day.girls. At the same time, additional skin had to be built up on the heads of the twins. Only after this was a direct division carried out. Doctors connected the vessels, removed the extra ones and sewed the torn ones together. I had to remove part of the brain. But this, according to doctors, did not lead to disruption of his work. Doctors in the future needed to restore the structure of the skulls, increase the lost bone fragments and restore the hairline.

Erin and Abby were the last Siamese twins to be successfully operated on.

As one of the operated surgeons, Jess Taylor, said, the earlier the separation operation is performed, the more chances children have for a normal full life. It is easier for organs to recover, and development should not slow down.

Siamese twins are also found in the animal kingdom. True, such specimens rarely fall into the hands of researchers, because they are weak and do not survive in the wild.

Currently, the problem of Siamese twins is studied not only by doctors, but also by teachers and psychologists. When caring for such children and raising them, a lot of problems arise - both medical and psychological. In the case of Siamese twins, the expression "forever together" has a literal meaning. And psychologically they are different personalities. We must take all measures to, in case of impossibility of separation, to make the life of Siamese twins as full as possible.