On Monday two very special boys arrived at Shanghai Station, having traveled from Central China’s Henan Province. The young travelers are a mere 55 days old and the trip will change their destiny. The brothers, named Huang Long and Huang Jianlong are conjoined twins and have come to Shanghai in hopes of a successful separation.
The babies were born at a hospital in Minquan County in Shangqiu, Henan Province on February 25th through caesarean section and shared a combined weight of 6 kg. Their father says that “Prenatal tests showed they were twins, but didn’t say they were conjoined.”
The boys -- who now weigh in at 7.27 kg -- are currently being cared for at the Shanghai Children’s Medical Center, a hospital that has experience performing the delicate operation. Over the next two weeks the boys are undergoing preparatory tests that will help the surgeons’ plan the customized surgery.
Haung Long and younger brother Haung Jianlong are connected from breastbone to navel and face one another. They share one liver but have separate gall bladders, hearts, digestive and hematogenic systems.
An ultrasonic test which was conducted Monday shows that the younger twin, Huang Jianlong is suffering from congenital heart disease and if the two are not separated in time, the disease could affect brother Huang Long. Once the twins are separated successfully, Haung Jianlong will undergo surgery to repair his heart.
Worldwide statistics show that only one birth in every 200,000 produce conjoined twins and, approximately 40 to 60 percent of those arrive stillborn. Of those live births, about 35 percent survive only one day. With those statistics it’s safe to say that Shanghai’s most unique visitors are fighters. And that’s exactly what they need to be to survive the upcoming surgery.
The overall survival rate of conjoined twins is somewhere between 5 and 25 percent. For unknown reasons, females seem to enjoy a better survival rate than their male counterparts. Although more male twins conjoin in the womb than female twins, females are three times as likely as males to be born alive.
The surgical separation of conjoined twins is a delicate and risky procedure, requiring extreme precision and care. Therefore, the decision to separate twins is a serious one.
Mortality rates for twins who undergo separation vary, depending on their type of connection, and the organs they share. Sharing only their liver (a large organ), the Huang twins are fortunate and receive the highest rate of success. It is important to note that although success rates have improved over the years, surgical separation is still rare.
It is only after twins are born that doctors can use magnetic resonance imaging, ultrasound and angiography to find out what organs the twins share. In order to determine the feasibility of separation, doctors must carefully assess how the twins' shared organs function.
After separation, most twins need intensive rehabilitation because of the malformation and position of their spines. The muscles in their backs are constantly being flexed and they often have a difficult time bending their backs forward and backwards and sitting up straight.
We at AboutShanghai wish the best for these boys and hope their separation and rehabilitation (as well as Haung Jianlong’s heart surgery) are a great success.
