Recently, a case of the birth of such a child came to light in India, which surprised even the doctors. A child is born here who has two heads, three hands and two hearts.
Shaheen Khan and her husband Sohail were initially told that their twins were about to be born. But when the children were born, the eyes of everyone in the maternity ward, including the doctors, broke. Shaheen gave birth to a boy who has two heads. This case is from Ratlam in Madhya Pradesh. Soon after the newborn was born, he was referred to a major hospital in Indore, while the child’s mother was kept in the same district hospital.
Doctors say it’s a disease called dicephalic paraphagia. The doctor thinks this is a rare case. The chances of survival for these children are much lower. In this situation, let us know what is Dicephalic Paraphagus Disease, how are fused children born and what are the reasons for this…
What is Dicephalic Paraphagus Disease?
Dicephalic paraphagus disease is a rare form of partial fusion with two ends in the same body. This connection of newborn babies is also known in common parlance as two-headed children. Most children born this way die before birth or shortly after birth. The chances of survival for children connected in this way are much lower.
According to the Mayo Clinic, these twins are fused at the pelvis, abdomen, or chest, but have separate heads. Also, these twins can have two, three or four arms and two or three legs. In these children, the body parts are sometimes the same or may be different. There have been many cases where doctors have separated conjoined children, but the chances of that happening are very less. Also, in this type of surgery, it depends on where the children are attached and what organs they share.
What are the symptoms of dicephalic paraphagus?
There is no sign or symptom through which one can know that children will be born connected. Like other twin pregnancies, the uterus grows very quickly in this one. In addition, women have to face the problem of more fatigue, dizziness and vomiting in the first days of pregnancy. Conjoined twins can be detected early in pregnancy using standard ultrasounds.
How merged children are born
Conjoined twins are usually classified based on where they are related. Many times children connected in this way are attached to some part of the body, while some children share the same part with each other.
How babies are born conjoined instead of twins
After a few weeks of conception, the fertilized egg splits into two separate embryos and the work of organ formation begins in it. When this happens, twins are born, but in some cases this process of separating the embryo stops in the middle, leading to the birth of twins or conjoined children instead of twins.
Conjoined twins can be connected to each other by these parts:
breast- Fused babies are in many cases fused to the chest. Children often share the same heart, liver and large intestine due to their association with this site. In extreme cases of conjoined twins, it is quite common for the children to be attached to this part of the body.
abdomenMany times children are connected through the stomach. In children connected in this way, the liver and the lower part of the small intestine and colon are the same. The children associated with this site have a different heart.
lower part of the spine- Many times children are attached to the lower part of the spine. Children associated with this site share the gastrointestinal tract (gastrointestinal region), genital and urinary organs.
Spine length- Sometimes children are attached to the length of the spinal cord. Children associated with this site are quite rare.
pelvis The lower gastrointestinal tract, liver, genital tract, and urinary tract are common in children associated with this site. Children may have two or three legs attached to this site.
no- In this, the children are attached to the front or back of the head. Children associated with this site have only one head. But the brains of these children are usually different. However, these children may share some brain tissue.
head and breast- In this, children are attached to the face and upper body. Children connected in this way face the opposite direction and share the brain together. It is very difficult for children to survive this way.
trunk- In this, the children are joined in place on one side of the pelvis and parts of the abdomen and chest, but their heads are different. These children may have two, three or four arms and two or three legs because of their association with this place.
In many cases, it is also seen that in conjoined twins, one is less developed than the other baby.
Risk factors of dicephalic paraphagus
Conjoined twins are quite rare. In such a situation, it is very difficult to know why this happens. It is also very difficult to find out who can have conjoined twins.