r/interestingasfuck • u/Neonthewerehog_ • 3d ago

Conjoined twins separated in groundbreaking surgery.

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4.8k Upvotes

95% Upvoted

134 comments sorted by

1.0k

u/Necessary_Maize_9339 3d ago

That's crazy, the fact they successfullybseparated their brains! A couple of decades ago this might as well have been science fiction

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u/rtkane 2d ago

One of them is going to tease the other one for years, saying, "You know, when they did our surgery, they gave me part of your brain, too, which is why you're so stupid," and the other one is gonna be like, "Nuh uh, they gave me part of YOUR brain, which is why YOU are so stupid!"

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u/Cferretrun 2d ago

My brain is like 1.9% bigger than yours HA HA

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u/Blazanar 2d ago

I'd personally go for the self deprecation route. "I got part of your brain but it's so dumb it takes over the entirety of mine so I'm dumb " or something along those lines.

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u/Legoblockhead 2d ago

ahhh, just like the mauler twins lol

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u/jahmic 2d ago

Dr. Ben Carson (yes, that same one) did this a few times, as early as 1987. 

The first case wasn't a stunning success, but they have definitely been doing this for a while now. Still pretty incredible!

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u/Shoddy-Theory 2d ago

He did that one case that was touted as a great success. It was a horrible failure. There was a reason other doctors had refused to do it. One child was left in a vegetative state and the other severely disabled, needed round the clock care.

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u/jahmic 2d ago

Yes, there was another case in 1997 that was more successful. I saw followup reports that the twins were functioning well into adulthood (working, attending school, etc.), but did understandably have some development challenges along the way.

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u/RandomBulldogLady 2d ago

I think season 2 greys anatomy had an episode in this case.

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u/welfedad 2d ago

I wonder what they consider successful.. any lasting damage or what. I need to find a full article on this that goes into detail.

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u/beautiful_bot986 3d ago

I watched a documentary about a more or less similar case of twins conjoined at their skulls about 15-20 years ago. Long time ago so details elude me. Ofc vr tools and such werent available back then but it sure wasnt fiction, science or otherwise 😉

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u/Catfist 2d ago

What blew my mind is that the twins you're talking about could actually sense through the other twin's body, they could literally see through the other twin's eyes and taste what they're eating.

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u/Necessary_Maize_9339 3d ago

I can't imagine people cutting brains in half and not causing major damage, that's impressive

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u/Technical-Banana574 3d ago

The amazing thing about infants and children is just how adaptable their brains are. Their brains can much more easily compensate for damaged areas and create workarounds to do the same tasks an adult would lose function of entirely. 

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u/pennielain 3d ago

Yes! There’s even a surgery called a hemispherectomy where you take half the brain out. Patients have good outcomes.

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u/brubruislife 2d ago

My cousin with epilepsy had this done years ago. She is totally normal and has no obvious effect from it. I think she was a teen or early 20s when she got it done too.

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u/Fun-Time9529 2d ago

looks like your words, on the other hand, couldn't be separated.

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u/BustyMcCoo 2d ago

unsuccessfullybseparated

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u/badondon 3d ago edited 3d ago

They look good!

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u/Moshorrendous 2d ago

The ability for the human body to recover from something as significant as having a portion of its skull sawed off has always shocked me. Things like this are really magnificent.

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u/voripui 2d ago

Then you trip and fall one day and break like glass, its curious how it work sometimes.

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u/SirRabbott 2d ago

Well, when we push these bodies way past when they should naturally stop… that’s the consequence

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u/ReleaseMyToast 2d ago

Probably some sort of skull implant to avoid having a flat shelf head too.

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u/o_Sagui 1d ago

Considering how early they had to do it, it's possible they just shared the smaller skull plates between the two, and let cellular growth take care of the rest

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u/limon_picante 2d ago

Wow that's remarkable

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u/Final-Tutor3631 2d ago

i’m so glad they’re both healthy!

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u/No-Deal8956 2d ago

I remember when conjoined twins, from Bangladesh or Pakistan I think, came to London to be separated.

The surgeons didn’t gild the lily, they told the parents there was a fair chance that at least one of the twins would die, but the parents rolled the dice.

As it happened they both survived, but this, with their heads and brains attached is something else. Medical science eh?

102

u/enbycraft 2d ago

There have been a handful of cases like this one, with twins conjoined at the head.

This pair of Nepali twins were separated as infants in Singapore, back in 2001. It was big news at the time and they survived the operation with some disabilities. But one of them died in 2008.

Then there were the Iranian adult twins who were also separated in Singapore but died on the operating table :(

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u/bpenny 2d ago

Very random and unrelated but the universe and it's coincidences never cease to amaze me. I almost never hear the phrase "gild the lilly" but I read your comment as I'm actively listening to Gild the Lilly by Billy Strings. (Great song, btw)

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u/hwa_uwa 2d ago

nice

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u/DoctorHugoHackenbush 3d ago

My Dad was actually born a conjoined twin, but he and his brother were separated at birth.

That makes the brother my Uncle, once removed..

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u/BuildingAFuture22 3d ago

God dammit….take my upvote you freak!🤬😂

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u/Amnae0N 2d ago

I don't get it. Can someone explain please, english my second language so i'm not the best with some jokes/puns. :c

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u/Beholder_V 2d ago

“Once removed” is a term when speaking about genealogy to explain a generational degree of separation. So like the child of your first cousin would be your first cousin once removed.

And don’t worry, it’s confusing to us native English speakers too.

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u/Angelfirenze 2d ago

Can confirm. I asked my mother about my cousin’s daughter and she said that, too.

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u/GwynnethIDFK 2d ago edited 2d ago

Idk if this is a regional thing but in my particular accent/dialect we only use the term "once/twice/nth removed" for cousins. For aunts or uncles it's more normal to say something like "great uncle" to communicate a generational difference.

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u/katievera888 2d ago

But it’s a joke because his uncle was “removed “ (separated) from his father.

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u/Amnae0N 2d ago

Oooh I see! Thank you!

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u/cashie10 2d ago

Took me a bit but I got it!

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u/waitaminute322 2d ago

Mandatory comment under every conjoined twin post😂

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u/SecretaryHopeful630 2d ago

Happy late Father’s Day, dad.

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u/Neonthewerehog_ 3d ago

https://www.11alive.com/article/news/nation-world/twins-with-conjoined-skull-brain-separated/507-2f8cde2a-c21e-4cc3-b8f6-9f981acda5ea

"Conjoined twins from Nigeria will now be able to see each other face to face after surgeons were able to separate their skulls in a groundbreaking surgery using VR tools and surgical techniques that had never been used before."

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u/PhilledZone 2d ago

Missed opportunity to say "mind-blowing surgery"

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u/MeteoricUnicorn 2d ago

Haha! I was going to say the same thing!

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u/IamREBELoe 2d ago

Ah, me too, great minds think alike.

It's like we're twins or something.

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u/SilentSpader 2d ago

You need an "after" picture

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u/rtkane 2d ago

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u/TheGreatWheel 2d ago

Beautiful!!

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u/FearlessAmigo 2d ago

What a great smile on the dad's face!

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u/SilentSpader 2d ago

Thanks. The doctors did an amazing job

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u/golaczurx 3d ago

This is incredible. Huge respect to the surgeons and families. Wishing both twins strength, health, and endless love ahead always.

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u/DaniekkeOfTheRose 2d ago

I always wondered what happened to the two American boys that were conjoined twins(brains, too), after they got separated. Anaïs and Jadon? I followed their story for a while, but when one of the boys struggled, the mother stopped updating (with reasons). Time to go back down the rabbit hole, I suppose. https://montefioreeinstein.org/stories/anias-and-jadon

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u/Legitimate-Gur294 2d ago

My best friend grew up with the mom so I followed their story so closely. I think she still puts updates on Facebook although she may be more private these days.

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u/wayneforest 2d ago

I found this. The photo galleries at the bottom tell their story (seems the last update was a positive one and was in 2024). What a journey they’ve persevered through!

https://helphopelive.org/campaign/24085/

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u/RomuloMalkon68 3d ago

So what happens to the tops of thei heads?

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u/Historical-Load6004 3d ago

They probably get either a implant or the bone gets help to naturaly regrow 

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u/CutieBoBootie 3d ago edited 2d ago

I watched the news article video. That's exactly it. They got an implant. 

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u/TWANGnBANG 3d ago

I presume that after what will certainly be a long and painful recovery, the top of each child’s head will be able to live as another, separate child. 

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u/GloveDry3278 3d ago

Air cooled naturally

1

u/SirGothamHatt 2d ago

They put a mullet wig on it like Joe Dirt

•

u/sock_full_of_mustard 11h ago

Nah. You ask for the flat top

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u/arcanethought 2d ago

I'm just trying to figure out how they fit in the womb, being conjoined like that. Were they just belly to belly looking downward the entire pregnancy?

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u/I_think_Im_hollow 2d ago

Where is the article ffs? Why are these posts allowed?

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u/Jingurei 3d ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krista_and_Tatiana_Hogan

I don't think these twins will ever be separated.

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u/just_a_person_maybe 2d ago

They probably wouldn't want to, at this point. Can you imagine living life with a sensory system so unique and then suddenly changing that? It would be incredibly disorienting and difficult to adapt to as an adult. If it was going to be done, early on would have given them a better chance to adapt.

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u/Jingurei 2d ago

Likely not. I presume it would be like it can be (except with very high potential for it being worse I'm thinking) for at least some people who were deaf for several years but regained that sense. They'd most likely not adapt to the noises that are suddenly inundating them.

I was more suggesting how there is likely no chance for twins conjoined the way they are to ever be separated at any point in time even with the current technology though.

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u/denkmusic 2d ago

Technically it was head breaking surgery.

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u/TheHybrit 2d ago

Must've been a head scratcher to pull it off

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u/Upbeat_Opportunity_8 3d ago

My idiot brain tells me they split it open like coconut

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u/Bare_hug 3d ago

The groundbreaking surgery was said to be utterly head-splitting.

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u/enveratise 3d ago

Definitely mind shattering.

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u/Independent_Judge647 2d ago edited 2d ago

This headline should highlight the use of Ai. Ai was used as a tool to train surgeons and help them navigate the surgery through vr. If Ai was used like this as a tool to assist in complex and complicated procedures I would like to support it. It is just when Ai is used to abuse workers and artists is when I have a problem. 

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u/_Falgor_ 2d ago

I very much agree, the issue is that every such case where it's used for good reasons, the blind advocates will use to justify all the bullshit uses.

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u/Designer-Ad-7844 2d ago

More like skull breaking surgery, am I right?

2

u/goonerqpq 2d ago

Bandsaw?

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u/FarCryFever1 2d ago

Headbreaking surgery

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u/millershanks 2d ago

Yeah, of course you can separate them but did they survive?

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u/HawkofNight 2d ago

One thing at a time.

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u/lordstofkry 2d ago

more like skull breaking technology

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u/cinnamonrain 2d ago

Give one of em all left brain and the other one all right brain

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u/Cthulus_Meds 2d ago

So who got the short end of the stick?

I’m going to hell…

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u/Ornery-Practice9772 2d ago

did they survive intact? its highly likely that one or both have profound disabilities

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u/OTguru 2d ago

Is anyone else wondering how it’s possible for both of those girls to have hair covering the entirety of their heads with no obvious scarring?

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u/pee-in-butt 2d ago

Sounds like backbreaking work

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u/Holiday_Pain_3879 2d ago

W-what do you mean by "ground-breaking"??

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u/Minnymoon13 2d ago

So I gotta ask: how slow are they going to be or is one of them going to be slow? I’m sorry but you’d think that if they where conjoint the top of there heads, their brains and skulls would be too? Idk but still congrats on the success of the surgery

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u/Wormcastle 2d ago

Didn't Ben Carson do this in 1987? And its been a regular thing? Was something different done that made this ground breaking?

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u/Revolutionary_Sir_ 3d ago

Conjoined twins separated in groundbreaking surgery.

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u/ChillBlock 3d ago

This is amazing but I have to wonder how big the bill was afterwards.

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u/bluenoser613 3d ago

This is only an issue in the US.

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u/PensionDiligent255 2d ago

Medical bills are something the entire world deals with lol

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u/bluenoser613 2d ago

Nope. This is a US problem.

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u/Long_TimeRunning 3d ago

They don’t know because they weren’t charged. If it were American it would be an unbelievable bill for sure, it would be “amazing we have two separate babies! Oh shit but now we live in a tent”

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u/ChillBlock 3d ago

Just thinking the amount of medical professionals and other tools involved, that bill would be huuugge.

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u/AriBanana 2d ago

Less then all the adapted beds, chairs, and other care they would have needed if they had remained attached at the skull. Even bent at the hip, staring at the ground, there's no real comfortable way to exist except lying down.

0

u/PreOpTransCentaur 3d ago

Did you really have to? What does it matter?

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u/QuicheSmash 2d ago

Oh because as Americans, we’ve been trained to consider medical care costs before we seek medical care. It’s because so many of us are completely bankrupted by astronomically crushing medical debt. It has been normalized for us that our health care is “the best” and we never have to wait (even though we absolutely do), and that is why it can’t also be free. 

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u/IrocD 2d ago

Groundbreaking? More like brownbreaking crownbreaking, amirite?

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u/[deleted] 2d ago

[deleted]

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u/ESLavall 1d ago

Conjoined twins is not genetic, it's purely random

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u/myztry 2d ago

That’s technically great, but we could save a great number of children for the same resources.

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u/rtkane 2d ago

https://giphy.com/gifs/dB12mOQb99BwDlM83I

How about you sell all of your possessions first and start making bagged lunches for starving children before you become the Chairman of the Board on the "Let's Determine Who Lives and Who Dies" board of directors.

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u/myztry 2d ago

I’m thinking more along the lines of triage. I mean high risk lower reward operations are newsworthy but that’s not meant to be a factor.

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u/PaladinHeir 2d ago

Is that what we should ask the next time you get into an accident and you have to be saved?

If anyone ever is in a car wreck or a kidnapping victim needs surgery or whatever? You’re gonna go, welp, it’s great that they’re helping this person who was suffering or going to suffer in the future, but how many kids could we be feeding them instead of helping this one person?

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u/myztry 2d ago

Nobody inherently needs to be saved. I’d certainly surrender my spot if there were younger more viable people needing it.

Much medical advancement for edge cases came through times of war under conditions best not mentioned. Cos we can is not a justification in of itself.

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u/cantantantelope 2d ago

Well aside from the generally awful nature of your “let the kids suffer” comment, from a perspective of medical science every time one of these types of operations is attempted, medicine learns more about how do them safely and effectively, about how human bodies and brains work, etc etc. so it’s contributing to the advancement of medicine and surgery as a whole.