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Article: The dilemma of conjoined twins
- Article from:
- The Journal of Perioperative Practice
- Article date:
- September 1, 2003
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright National Association of Theatre Nursing Sep 2003. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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Introduction
In early summer the harrowing story of Ladan and Laleh Bijani, the conjoined twins from Iran, touched many hearts the world over. Joined at the head since birth, the sisters decided to accept the risks of a marathon operation so that they could live separate lives. Their dream was to be able to look one another in the eyes.
The operation in Singapore was fraught with difficulty and, after more than two days of surgery, both twins died. It raised ethical concerns surrounding the separation of conjoined twins and raised the profile of the surgical procedures used.
Conjoined twins
Approximately one in every 200,000 births are conjoined. Of the live births around 5% survive for ...