View Full Version : UK mum 'blessed' with rare Siamese twins
A British mum is preparing to give birth to Siamese twins with two heads but just one body.
Lisa Chamberlain, 25, says she feels "blessed" to be pregnant with the twins and on the brink of making British medical history if they are born alive.
She and fiance Mike Pedace were told by doctors that the twins had a 20 per cent chance of surviving but decided not to abort the twins because they were a gift from God.
"Some people might look at me and say, 'You're going to give birth to a freak' - but I don't care because I feel blessed," Chamberlain told The Sun newspaper.
"To me, my twins are a gift from God and we're determined to give them their chance of life."
After Chamberlain, 25, underwent a scan last week, doctors were stunned to discover she was carrying conjoined babies with two heads attached to one body with one heart.
The babies are known as dicephalous twins, the rarest known type of Siamese twins.
Chamberlain discovered she was pregnant in December after being told for years she probably would never have children because she had poly cystic ovaries.
My heart goes out to her. Sadly, the babies are not expected to live for very long.
Did they not have a case like this in the states and in Isreal?
Yes, there have been quite a few. Wiki lists them as follows:
Born 19th century and earlier
Conjoined twins Chang and Eng BunkerMary and Eliza Chulkhurst (1100-1134) (also known as the Biddenden Maids) from England. They are the earliest known set of conjoined twins.
Lazarus and Joannes Baptista Colloredo (1617-164?)
Chang and Eng Bunker (1811-1874), from Thailand (formerly Siam), joined by the areas around their xiphoid cartilages, but over time the join stretched; the expression Siamese twins is derived from their case
Millie and Christine McCoy (July 11, 1851 - 1912) were American conjoined twins who went by the stage names "The Two-Headed Nightingale" and "The Eighth Wonder of the World".
Rosa and Josepha Blazek of Bohemia (modern-day Czech Republic (1878–1922));
Radica and Doodica were born in Orissa, India in 1888. They were xiphopagus twins, joined at the chest by a band of cartilage, similar to Chang and Eng. The sisters were separated in Paris by Dr. Eugène-Louis Doyen with the hope of saving Radica. Dr. Doyen was a pioneering medical filmmaker and filmed the twins' surgery as La Separation de Doodica-Radica. Though the operation was considered a success at first, Doodica died shortly after separation, and Radica also succumbed to tuberculosis in 1903, having lived the last year of her life in a Paris sanitorium.
Born 20th century
Daisy and Violet Hilton of Brighton, East Sussex, England (1908–1969), born in England, lived in United States, actresses, appeared in the movie Freaks
Lucio and Simplicio Godina of Samar, Philippines (1908–1936);
Mary and Margaret Gibb of Holyoke, Massachusetts (1912–1967);
Yvonne and Yvette McCarther of Los Angeles, California (1949–1992);
Masha and Dasha Krivoshlyapova (ischiopagus tripus) Moscow, Russia (1950-2003), Soviet/Russian twin girls, rarest form of conjoined twins, only known case of dicephalus tetrabrachius tripus (two heads, four arms, three legs). The third, fused leg was amputated when the twins were 16 or 17.
Lotti and Rosemarie Knaack (craniopagus) born in Hamburg, Germany in 1951. Craniopagus. Separated in 1957 when they were nearly six years old. Lotti died in surgery.
Ronnie and Donnie Galyon of Ohio (1951–), currently the world's oldest living conjoined twins.
Lori and George (formerly Reba, born Dori) Schappell born 18 September 1961 in Reading, Pennsylvania, American entertainers, craniopagus, not separated
Sherrie and Sharise Jones born on June 15, 1967 and successfully separated on November 13, 1968 in Brooklyn, New York, ischiopagus tripus conjoined twins
Ladan and Laleh Bijani of Shiraz, Iran (Persia) (1974–2003); died during separation surgery in Singapore
Ruthie and Verena Cady, born April 13, 1984, thoracopagus twins. Died of heart and respiratory problems July 19, 1991.
Katie and Eilish Holton Katie and Eilish Holton of Kildare, babies born joined at the shoulder in 1988. Separation became a necessity; Katie died shortly after the procedure was performed. #
Abigail and Brittany Hensel, (1990-), born in Carver County, Minnesota, United States of America, dicephalic conjoined twins, two heads, two arms, two legs, cannot be separated
Ram & Laxman 1992 Successfully separated st Guntur, India #
Anjali & Geetanjali 1993 Successfully separated st Guntur, India #
Rekha & Surekha 1998 Successfully separated st Guntur, India #
Shawna and Janelle Roderick (thoracopagus) separated May 31, 1996 at Loma Linda Children's Hospital. #
Born 21st century
Carmen and Lupita Andrade, born Dicephalus Tetrabrachius Dipus (2 heads, 4 arms and 2 legs) in 2000. Separation was not possible.
Ganga and Jamuna Shreshta of Nepal, conjoined twins born May 9, 2000 who were separated in a landmark surgery in Singapore in 2001; Ganga died on July 29 2008 at the age of 8 of a chest infection; #
Mohamed and Ahmed Ibrahim, born in a small Egyptian town on June 2, 2001, separated in a 34-hour operation at Children's Medical Center Dallas on October 12, 2003 #
Mary and Jodie Attard, Maltese twins joined at spine, born October 2000. Separated in Great Britain by court order against the wishes of their parents, because Mary could not survive independently. Mary died upon separation. #
Sarah and Abbey (Pygopagus) born in New Zealand in 2004 and separated successfully later that year. #
Veena & Vani 2004 Successfully separated st Guntur, India
Lakshmi Tatma (born 2005) was an ischiopagus conjoined twin born in Araria district in the state of Bihar, India. She had four arms and four legs, resulting from a joining at the pelvis with a headless undeveloped parasitic twin. Some of the local villagers have hailed her as the reincarnation of Lakshmi, the multi-limbed Hindu goddess. In November 2007 she successfully underwent surgery to remove the parasitic twin. #
Jade and Erin Buckles, born February 26, 2004, United States. Separated in June 2004.
Kendra and Maliyah Herrin ischiopagus twins separated in 2006 at age 4. Born with only one kidney between the two, Maliyah received a kidney transplant from her mother in 2007. #
Krista and Tatiana Hogan, Canadian twins conjoined at the head. Born October 25, 2006.
Faith and Hope Williams born in London, England, on 26 November 2008; The girls were joined from the breastbone to the navel. On 2 December 2008 they underwent an operation to separate them at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London. On 3 December Hope died. Faith died 23 days after her sister on Christmas Day, with her parents at her bedside.
This is the one I am think off
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4295487.stm
there has only have been 2 other cases
I know that this is not pc at all but I would not consider this a blessing.
I thought that too, when I first read the news. But as she has been wanting and trying for a child for many years, she obviously sees it as a blessing.
im not sure how id feel if this happened to me, but i dont think id go through with pregnancy, but again you never know until it happens toyou
i'm not sure i could carry the baby, knowing the chances of survival were low and knowing what they will have to go through once born
but then i also knwo the joy of finding out your pregnant after years of trying coz of pcos....... hard one
this just reminds me of the episode of nip tuck where they seperate conjoined twins. was such a sad episode as one died on the operating table, and the other twin lost the will to live without her twin sister so died soon after :crying:
this just reminds me of the episode of nip tuck where they seperate conjoined twins. was such a sad episode as one died on the operating table, and the other twin lost the will to live without her twin sister so died soon after :crying:
That happen in the real life stuff I have linked above.. the head died on table cause it was only attached at the brain and didn't have any organs at all, it was months later when the other died.. it was pretty sad.. the nurse looking after both kids were sobbing
Im mixed about it, I dont think I could ever have an abortion but I believe if the child is gonna have a very shott life or be in pain and suffer then I would
I even feel cruel saying that
I would definitely terminate. Not only for myself, but for my family, my other children. I will not be insulting and say that I wold do it for the twins themselves - but sparing myself and my family for constant heartache.
I agree with everything you said Trinity. The twins will most likely die, recent cases involving siamese twins have resulted in both babies dying. What quality of life will they have if they do survive?
I don't think it's selfish to want a perfectly normal baby. Even if I had been trying for years to have a child, I would still terminate. I would not want my child (or children) to go through the pain and suffering of having operations at such a young age, which would probably result in death. Every parent wants their child to live and be healthy. The odds are too low at 20%.
If these babies survive and that is a big IF imagine how much they will suffer when they are born the pain, the operations, the fight for survival and as for the odds 20% is very optomistic. Who exactly is this blessing for? I know it's her children and it would be a horrible decision to make and I would never wish it on anyone or imagine how much she must be hurting but I keep thinking how much these little ones will suffer.
Playing devil's avocate here.. but what if there was just the slightest chance one of them will survive after a seperation?? would you still terminate both of them?
Playing devil's avocate here.. but what if there was just the slightest chance one of them will survive after a seperation?? would you still terminate both of them?
That is what I would be wondering about and I am sure that the mum-to-be is hopeful of this too. I am just so glad that I never had to consider this situation and it makes me appreciate my healthy son.
Playing devil's avocate here.. but what if there was just the slightest chance one of them will survive after a seperation?? would you still terminate both of them?
They wouldn't be separated. They are dicephalous twins, one body but two heads.
Yes.
I don't want to have children so that I can make my family a freak show, be hounded by the press and TV, and to be accused of only proceeding with the pregnancy only to make money.
I don't want to subject innocent kids to years of gawking, operations and pain with the probability of early death, and no prospect of a normal life.
Without the operation I don't want to subject two seperate brains to being cojoined for life with no realistic prospect of separation (don't forget in this instance there is no prospect of the 'twins' being separate - one head has to be amputated).
Not being able to go to the toilet alone, not being able to drink from a cup without co-ordination with another person who is with you 24/7 forever.
I would terminate.
I don't believe that abortion should be used as a 'late' method of birth control. I am not generally a 'it's my body I will do as I like' kind of person.
I just don't think that this is in anyones best interests. not the mother, the children or the taxpayer.
(don't forget in this instance there is no prospect of the 'twins' being separate - one head has to be amputated).
.
Not necessarily. There is a set of dicephalous twins in America who are still joined. One of them is normal sized and another is a dwarf. That must be incredibly difficult to do the simplest of tasks like going to the toilet or having a shower.
Link here (http://feww.wordpress.com/). Scroll down to British Mum Expecting Siamese Twins. The picture is of Abigail and Brittany Hensel
I honestly don't know what I would do. I don't think I would terminate, but I wouldn't go the press either. This is my baby not the worlds and I will, at the end of the day, be the one looking after it.
(don't forget in this instance there is no prospect of the 'twins' being separate - one head has to be amputated).
.
Not necessarily. There is a set of dicephalous twins in America who are still joined. One of them is normal sized and another is a dwarf. That must be incredibly difficult to do the simplest of tasks like going to the toilet or having a shower.
Link here (http://feww.wordpress.com/). Scroll down to British Mum Expecting Siamese Twins. The picture is of Abigail and Brittany Hensel
Yep, I appreciate that. I was just saying that the choices were stay joined or one dies.
I honestly don't know what I would do. I don't think I would terminate, but I wouldn't go the press either. This is my baby not the worlds and I will, at the end of the day, be the one looking after it.
It would be leaked at the hospital. The whole country will be paying for the medical care, and therefore it would be considered a human interest story.
The rest of you family would no longer have a normal life, you would be stared at and abused by idiots in the street and would end up not going out.
You would not be able to work, because you would have difficulty getting proper care for the twins. You would spend a lot of time at the hospital and your other children will feel neglected.
You will have constant stress and money worries. Your twins will have to suffer and you will have to watch them and know that there is no prospect of them having a 'normal' life.
You will worry about who will look after them if something happens to you, and you will worry that your descision to proceed with the pregnancy will mean that you other kids will feel they have to care for their siblings when you die and that they will never have a normal life either.
And you would feel guilty for being relieved when your twins actually die.
Totally agree with you but personally I would never have a termination.. I never have a reason to so maybe I would be different if something like this had come up but that is just me...
I would never want to have a termination, in fact as I have had a hysterectomy it is a moot point and I am lucky that I will never have to make such a decision.
I can totally understand your revulsion to the idea.
But some people have to make horrendous decisions like this, and we only hear of the few. I think that it might be a slight comfort to them to know that we can understand their decision to have a termination in these circumstances.
I know that despite my revulsion towards abortion I would terminate.
OK well if they could have good quality of life and not suffer loads then I wouldnt terminate
I mean yes people will look loads but at the end of the day there are LOADS of current conditions or health problems already around that people look and stare at
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