A rare case of dicephalic parapagus conjoined twins

Dicephalic parapagus are one of the rare forms of conjoined twins. Their prognosis is usually very poor. Early prenatal diagnosis of these serious congenital abnormalities remains a real challenge for health systems in the low-income countries. The late antenatal diagnosis of a case of this abnormality was presented. The diagnosis was made at the 33rd week on the only ultrasound performed during the pregnancy. The pregnancy was interrupted with the agreement of the couple and delivery was performed by caesarean section.

Parapagus dicephalus conjoined twin: a case report

A conjoined twin is a rare event. As per recent literature, 60% of conjoined twins are aborted spontaneously and hence true incidence of conjoined twin is approximately 1 in 200,000 live births. Classification is based upon site of attachment out of which parapagus with dicephalic variety is extremely rare (0.5% amongst reported cases). Author report a case of dicephalic twin born at 36 weeks of gestation to a multigravida mother in central India.

A rare case of conjoined twins presenting as dicephalus parapagus: a case report

Conjoined twinning is a congenital abnormality resulting in various presentations of the fetuses in utero. It is a rare embryological developmental disorder occurring in one in 100,000 births. We present a case of conjoined twinning, which is characterized by the presence of two heads, single vertebral column and single symphysis pubis, with single genitor-urinary tract and single gastro intestinal tract. The present condition, referred to as dicephalus parapagus, is a rare entity among the conjoined twinning and has seldom positive outcomes. The mechanism of occurrence of conjoined twinning has been proposed either through fusion or fission of the embryos. In either case, surgical separation of the conjoined twins is often unsuccessful and results in increased morbidity and mortality. However, it is essential to screen for the presence of such congenital anomalies early during pregnancy, in order to terminate and provide parental counselling.

Gemelos unidos (siameses): descripción de hallazgos anatomopatológicos / Conjoined twins (siamese): description of anatomopathological findings

Resumen OBJETIVO: Describir los hallazgos anatomopatológicos y placentarios en una serie de autopsias de 5 siameses. CASOS CLÍNICOS: Serie de casos de autopsias efectuadas entre 2013 y 2018 de pacientes entre 14 y 30 semanas de embarazo, con diagnóstico de gemelos unidos. RESULTADOS: Se encontraron 5 casos de gemelos unidos, hijos de madres multíparas, 3 tuvieron muerte intrauterina y 2 fallecimiento a los pocos minutos de vida. Tres casos correspondieron a uniones ventrales (2 toracoonfalópagos y 1 cefalópago) y dos a uniones laterales de tipo parápagos, dicéfalos. Hubo corazón único en los gemelos toracoonfalópagos y sistemas cardiacos separados en los tres restantes, donde hubo fusión aórtica distal. En 4 casos el hígado se encontró fusionado, con dos vías biliares independientes. Los cordones umbilicales de los casos de unión ventral tenían 5 vasos sanguíneos. Los de unión lateral tenían cordón umbilical trivascular. Los discos placentarios mostraron grados variables de hipoxia preplacentaria y cambios de malperfusión vascular materna. CONCLUSIONES: Las fusiones ventrales tienen grados variables de estructuras compartidas; entre mayor sea la fusión de los órganos internos, menor es el número de vasos umbilicales. De las teorías etiológicas propuestas, la esférica es la que mejor soporta los grados variables de fusión.

Abstract OBJECTIVE: Description of the anatomopathological and placental findings in a series of autopsies of 5 conjoined twins. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Series of cases of autopsies performed between 2013-2018 of patients between 14-30 weeks of gestation, with diagnosis of conjoined twins. RESULTS: Five cases of conjoined twins, product of multiparous mothers, 3 of these presented intrauterine death and 2 deaths within a few minutes of life. Three cases corresponded to ventral junctions (2 thoracoomphalopagus and 1 cephalopagus) and two to lateral junctions of parapagus type. A single heart was observed in the thoracoomphalopagus twins and separated cardiac systems in the remaining three where there was distal aortic fusion. In 4 cases the liver was found fused with two independent bile ducts. The umbilical cords of the cases of ventral union presented 5 blood vessels; those with lateral junction presented a trivascular umbilical cord. The placentas showed varying degrees of preuterine hypoxic pattern and changes of Maternal Vascular malperfusion of the Placental Bed. CONCLUSIONS: Ventral fusions have varying degrees of shared structures; the greater the fusion of the internal organs, the smaller the number of umbilical vessels will be. Of the proposed etiological theories, it is the so-called spherical theory, which best supports the variable degrees of fusion and how it can be saltatory on the vertical axis.

Dicephalic parapagus – tribrachius – A case study.

Background: Conjoined twinning is the most fascinating condition that affects human being as well as animals1,2,3. Their images have been found in cave drawings and carvings many centuries back. Like all monozygotic twins, conjoined twins are always of same sex. It is a fairly rare occurrence, exact statistics are not known, but are estimated to be 1 in 200,000 live births4 with a higher incidence in India and Africa. It is estimated that about 70 percent of conjoined twins are females. Approximately 40 to 60 percent of conjoined twins are stillborn, and about 35 percent survive only one day. The overall survival rate of conjoined twins is between 5 to 25 percent.