The recently celebrated delivery of conjoined twins at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) ended in tragedy as the twins passed away shortly after birth.
The hospital’s Chief Medical Director, Prof. Adetokunbo Fabamwo, confirmed the devastating news during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Lagos.
The twins, who were fused at the lower chest and abdomen, were delivered on October 5 at an estimated gestational age of 33 weeks and six days.
Despite the valiant efforts of the hospital’s multidisciplinary team, the twins could not be saved.
However, a glimmer of hope remains as the mother is reported to be in stable condition.
According to the CMD:
“The nature of their joining was so complex. They are joined from up to down, which is so complex. Moreover, they must have reached a certain age before they are separated.
“The first twins had congenital heart issues that weren’t compatible with life. When you have abnormalities like that, there are usually other abnormalities in the body.
“She was the first that died on Sunday. “When it happened, we quickly moved to separate them by assembling a team of multi-specialty experts from LASUTH and other hospitals.
“However, before we could intervene, the second twins died today (yesterday).”
The joyous occasion, which marked the first successful delivery of conjoined twins at the facility, quickly turned somber as the challenges associated with their condition proved insurmountable.
Conjoined twins, scientifically known as thoraco omphalopagus, occur when an early embryo only partially separates, leading to physical connection between two individuals. These cases are exceedingly rare, with an estimated incidence of one in 50,000 births, according to a 2017 report in the Journal of Clinical Anatomy.
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Additionally, nearly 60 percent of such cases result in stillbirth, emphasizing the complexity and rarity of this medical condition.
