Anesthetic management for separation of thoracopagus twins with complex congenital heart disease: a case report / 대한마취과학회지

Although thoracopagus twins joined at the upper chest are the most common type of conjoined twins, the separation surgery in these cases has a higher mortality rate. Here, we describe an anesthetic management approach for the separation of thoracopagus conjoined twins sharing parts of a congenitally defective heart and liver. We emphasize the importance of vigilant intraoperative hemodynamic monitoring for early detection of unexpected events. Specifically, real-time continuous monitoring of cerebral oximetry using near-infrared spectroscopy allowed us to promptly detect cardiac arrest and hemodynamic deterioration.

Diagnóstico precoz de gemelos toracópagos / Early diagnosis of Thoracopagus twins

Los gemelos toracópagos, xifópagos o esternópagos, representan el 75 % de los gemelos unidos simétricamente, están conectados por la región esternal o cerca de ella, situados cara a cara y habitualmente tienen órganos separados, excepto el hígado. Se presenta un caso de gemelos toracópagos con edad gestacional de 13,4 semanas, con el objetivo de demostrar el valor del ultrasonido en el diagnóstico precoz de los defectos morfológicos congénitos, describir los hallazgos anátomo patológicos y aspectos relacionados con la etiopatogenia de dichos gemelos.

Thoracopagus, xiphopagus or sternopagus twins represent 75% of symmetrically conjoined twins connected by the sternum or near, located face-to-face and usually they have separate organs except the liver. A case of Thoracopagus twins is reported in this paper. Their gestational age is 13.4 weeks. Our aim is to demonstrating the value of ultrasound in the early diagnosis of congenital morphological defects; to describe the pathological anatomic findings and issues related to the pathogenesis of these twins.