Roughly 40 percent of all conjoined twins are thoracopagus. They share a heart, making it nearly impossible to surgically separate them without one or both twins dying. There are nearly a dozen different types of conjoined twins, but one of the most commonly connected twins - thoracopagus twins - are attached at the upper portion of the torso.
During the first few weeks of gestation, the egg develops into an embryo that begins to split into identical twins, but the partially separated egg stops splitting and begins growing into a conjoined fetus. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, 40 to 60 percent of conjoined twins are stillbirths, and another 35 percent only survive a day after they’re born.Ĭonjoined twins are born from the same egg which does not fully separate once it’s fertilized. One in every 200,000 live births results in a set of conjoined twins, and their chances of survival are between just 5 and 25 percent. The life of a conjoined twin is complex, extraordinary, and emblematic of public intrigue, driving experts to want to pry into the intimacy of their lives and ask the questions: How do they feel, think, write, run, and engage in sexual activity? Despite the lack of scientific investigation on conjoined twins, medical knowledge continues to grow with each surgery, autopsy, and laboratory test. With their lives reliant on their physical connection to one another, their chances of survival are low.
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