Twins, fused together, were born at all times. This is reflected in legends and myths. In ancient Rome, this deity is Two-faced Janus, in Greek mythology it is centaurs. In the Middle Ages, the appearance of such children was considered the wiles of the devil and was a bad omen. Often the twin mothers were accused of having sinned with the devil.
This phenomenon got its modern name “Siamese twins” in 1911 in honor of the twins Chang and Eng Bankers, who were born in Siam (modern Thailand). The names Chang and Eng mean Thai "right" and "left".
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 to the sides.
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 wide variety of explanations for this phenomenon.
So, in the 15th century, the appearance of girls who had fused their heads was explained by the fact that, being pregnant, mother hit her head with another girl. The famous doctor of the 17th century. Ambroise Pare explained that such children can be born to a woman with too little uterus. This happens if a woman wears very tight underwear or does not sit properly during pregnancy.
Modern science speaks about the pathology of egg development. Siamese twins are identical. In normal multiple pregnancy, the total egg is divided into two from the 3rd to 8th day after conception. If this separation occurs after 13 days, then there is an incorrect development and various intergrowths.
The final reasons for this have not yet been elucidated. There are hypotheses of genetic origin, the effects of toxic substances, and even psychiatric effects.
Chang and Eng
Chang and Eng Bankers 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 nearby. At age 17, they were taken from Thailand to the United States and began to participate in circus performances and in various shows.
With the tour, the brothers traveled to many countries. They ran well, swam. Their organisms worked in a single rhythm. The tastes of the brothers were the same. In 1845 they created a family. Their sisters became their wives. Chang had 10 children, and Eng had 12. According to them, they quarreled only once in their life. The reason for the quarrel was the temperature of the bathing water. The water seemed too cold to one of the brothers, and too warm to the other. These are Siamese twins, whose photos went around all the newspapers and magazines of that time.
The brothers survived to 63 years. In 1874, Chang died of pneumonia. Eng died two hours later from cadaveric poisoning.
Sisters hilton
Sisters Daisy and Violetta were born in 1908 in Brighton (England). They fused with hips and had a common circulatory system. Their mother was single and worked as a barmaid. Unable to support such children, she practically sold them to the hostess of the establishment Mary Hilton. Under the tutelage of the Hilton, girls, starting from 3 years old, toured Europe and the USA. All the money they earned was taken away by the guardians, and only in 1931 they managed to break out of practically slavery.
In 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 of the Hong Kong flu. An examination found that Daisy was the first to die. Violetta died three days later.
Dasha and Masha Krivoshlyapova
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 Lawrence Beria, signed the necessary documents and left his daughters forever. The girls saw their mother for the first time only after 35 years. After the birth of 7 years, they were studied by academician Anokhin at the Institute of Pediatrics, and subsequently they were transferred to the Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedics, where the third leg was amputated.
There they received primary education and learned to walk on crutches. The girls changed several boarding schools and nursing homes. They were practically in poverty and were constantly humiliated and harassed. Only in 1989 did they receive an apartment in Moscow. With age, many health problems arose, and the disease was affected by alcoholism. In 2003, Masha had an acute heart attack, and she died. After 17 hours, Dasha died.
Zita and the 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 number 13 named. Filatov made a successful separation operation. The team of surgeons was led by academician Anatoly Isakov. The operation lasted 10 hours. The difficulty was that it had to separate unpaired organs. The separation of the Siamese twins was successful.
After the separation operation, one leg of Zita was replaced with a prosthesis. The girls spent three years in Moscow. Zita had a lot of health problems. Since 2012, she has been in the hospital under the supervision of doctors. She underwent a complicated operation at once by three specialists: proctologist, nephrologist and gynecologist. The condition of the Gita was stable.
In 2014, the twins returned to Kyrgyzstan. Zita's health continued to deteriorate, she was blinded in one eye. In 2015, Zita Rezakhanova died. The twin mother Zumriyat Rezakhanova says that before her death, Zita took a lot of selfies with a smile and posted them on Instagram. Gita was very worried about her sister's death. Now she is studying at the Islamic College in Kyrgyzstan and is preparing to become a teacher of the Arabic language. She says that Zita bequeathed to her to live for her too.
Hensel sisters
Abigail and Brittany Hensel were born in 1990 in the USA in the state of Minnesota. They have two arms, two legs and three lungs. Each of the sisters has a stomach and heart, but the blood circulation is the same. Below the waist, all the organs in the sisters are common. Each of them feels a touch only to its half of the body. They can run, jump, play the piano, drive a car. Each of the twins plays with his own hand. Remaining one, the sisters live a full life.
Sisters of Bijani
Incense and Lale Bijani from Iran were twins with fused heads. They were born in 1974, graduated from a university in Tehran, received law degrees. They turned to the Singaporean surgeon Keith Gokh, who had experience in such operations, with a request to separate them. Doctors warned the sisters about the risk that this operation entails, but the girls insisted on their own.
Their decision has been widely discussed in the media. The girls underwent a full psychiatric examination within six months, and in 2003 he underwent surgery. 28 surgeons and about one hundred junior staff took part in it. A special chair was created for them, since the operation had to be done in a sitting position. Their brains fused and had a common vein. The operation lasted two days. Doctors worked in shifts. After surgery, the girls were in critical condition due to blood loss due to surgical complications. Frankincense died at 14.30, Lale - at 16.00.
Ronnie and Donnie Galion
Ronnie and Donnie were born in 1951 in Dayton, Ohio, USA. They have two heads, two pairs of hands, two pairs of legs, two hearts, two stomachs. However, the torso from the sternum to the groin is one. 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 Donny is a more reserved reticent.
In 2009, the brothers were seriously ill. But with the help of doctors, it all ended well.
Erin and Abby Delaney
In October 2015, American surgeons performed a unique operation to separate the 13-month-old Siamese twins Erin and Abby Delaney. Girls were born with fused heads. Surgeons reported the results of the operation only five months later, when it became clear that everything ended well. Directly the operation in this case is not an instantaneous process. The procedure lasted almost a year.
The fact is that the girls had a common skull. And the doctors used a special apparatus that spread the skulls of girls a few millimeters a day. At the same time, extra skin had to be built on the heads of the twins. Only after that a direct separation was carried out. Doctors connected the vessels, removed the extra ones and sutured the torn ones. I had to remove part of the brain. But this, according to doctors, did not lead to disruption of his work. In the future, doctors 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 who were successfully operated on.
As Jess Taylor, one of the surgeons who operated on, said, the earlier the separation operation was performed, the greater the chances for the children to have 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 and raising such children, 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, these 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.