Twins Joined At The Head Born In B.C. As Doctors Ponder Their Next Steps

But in Vancouver, the delivery of a pair of charming girls is a major cause for concern.

The long awaited birth of conjoined twins named Krista and Tatiana took place in the B.C. city Wednesday and now doctors will have to figure out how – and if – they can be separated.

The twins are joined at the head.

Despite the obvious challenges that lie ahead, the fact they were delivered at all is a major accomplishment. Nearly half of all conjoined twins die before childbirth and those who make it through the sometimes grueling process can expire within 24 hours.

Doctors have had months to debate whether a separation is possible, given the sensitive area they share. And the life changing – and life threatening – question is still up in the air.

“Is there a chance that these two babies could live a life conjoined?” asks Dr. Jeff Blackmer of the office of ethics for the Canadian Medical Association. “Or, given those facts, then sometimes people have to start making the decision do we separate the conjoined twins and if we do what are the possible outcomes?”

Physicians still don’t know how much of their brain each one shares and even if the decision to separate them is made, it could be months or longer before the delicate procedure would be attempted.

That’s an eternity to the children’s already worried mother, Felicia Simms.

If their brains are shared, the operation may be impossible.

But if they’re simply fused – meaning each one has a functioning brain of their own – the operation is at least a possibility.

“The brain is very unforgiving,” suggests Dr. James Stein, a pediatric surgeon who has separated four sets of conjoined twins.

“We know with kids that are joined at chest, belly, pelvis, we can separate them very successfully, they will be neurologically normal, they will have restrictions on their ability to run but we certainly expect them to walk. I don’t think you can say that to a set joined at the head.”

The most famous recent case involved Ladan and Laleh Bijani, two sisters from Iran who had separate brains but were joined together at the head. Doctors in Singapore performed a lengthy and heroic operation on the pair in 2003,  but both died.

Unlike the B.C. case, the sisters waited until they were adults to have the operation, a delay that increased the danger. They charmed the world with their immense courage in the face of so much peril and their deaths were an emotional blow felt across the globe.