Conjoined Twins - 1990-1994

A look at the 57 births and separation surgeries (38 sets of girls, 16 sets of boys, 3 sets of unknown gender) we saw reported on the Web during the years 1990-1994. Cases are shown in chronological order:

In Lubbock, Texas, Lori and Rachael Montgomery are born in 1990. The omphalopagus twin sisters undergo successful separation in 1991 at Children's Medical Center in Dallas and today are healthy, active girls.

Dicephalus tribrachius twin girls are born in Poland in 1990. They are surgically separated on September 9, 1992, and one sister dies on October 5.

Thoracopagus twin brothers Jakob and James Watkins are born in Florida on February 28, 1990. An attempt to separate the boys is conducted on April 3, but both boys succumb.

A set of Dicephalus Twins, Abigail and Brittany Hensel are born on March 7, 1990, in Minnesota. Most dicephalus twins share a heart and lungs and only survive for a short while, but Brittany and Abigail are remarkable in that they have two hearts and four lungs and therefore great prospects for survival. Today, the two sisters share one body with two heads and are perfectly normal young girls who love to swim, play baseball and other sports. They share one liver, bladder, intestines and reproductive organs but have distinct nervous systems. The two have been featured on numerous TV shows (including Joined at Birth on the Discovery Channel) and Time and Life Magazines.

On March 23, 1990, thoracopagus twins Shannell and Shaneka Florence are born in Missouri. Because the sisters share a heart, separation is deemed too risky. The twins pass away in December of the same year.

Texas Children's Hospital in Houston, the same hospital that provided medical care for the world's first surviving octuplets in 1998, successfully separates Beaumont, Texas twins Tiesha and Iesha Turner on June 9, 1992. The girls were born joined at the chest and abdomen on April 19, 1991. A story on the five-year anniversary of their separation surgery reported that TCH had seen 11 sets of conjoined twins since 1964 with three successful separations.

Twin boys joined at the side of the head are born in Gudivada, Krishna District, India on June 13, 1990, and taken soon after birth to Guntur Medical College Hospital. The boys are named Ram and Lakshman and are surgically separated by Dr. Yarlagadda Nayudamma, chief of pediatric surgery and now a world-renowned expert on conjoined twins. Remarkably, Ram and Lakshman suffer no complications from their surgery and, at the time of a 2002 update, are attending school and developing normally.

In Brazil, 11-month-old Maria Rafaela and Francisca Racquel de Almeida undergo separation. The twins had been born sometime in 1991.

On January 14, 1991, dicephalus twin girls with one heart are born in the United Arab Emirates and survive for just four hours.

Aye-Aye and Ei-Ei Nyein are born in Myanmar (formerly Burma) on August 4, 1991. The thoracopagus twin sisters are separated on July 25, 1993.

Omphalopagus twin sisters, Anjali and Geetanjali, are born in India to Mangamma, 20, and Siva, 25, on November 25, 1991. The sisters are surgically separated by Dr. Nayudamma on February 17, 1993, and as of a 2002 update are healthy and developing normally.

A Gettysburg, South Dakota couple, Kelly and Melissa Archer, travels to Minnesota in anticipation for the birth of conjoined twins in 1991. The twins, Keri and Kaci Archer, are born joined at the abdomen with conjoined livers on October 15, 1991. Successful separation is performed on October 31 at Minneapolis Children's Center.

Also in 1991, parapagus twin sisters Heba and Samah are born in Saudi Arabia to a Sudanese family and undergo separation on February 11, 1992.

Vani and Rani Lakshmi are born in India in 1992 to 18-year-old Siva Lakshmi and 22-year-old Venkatesh. The xipho-omphalo-ischiopagus twins have ambiguous external genitalia and therefore cannot be classified as either boys or girls. They are evaluated by Dr. Y. Nayudamma, world-renowned conjoined twin expert and found to have numerous congenital problems. Before the twins can be treated, they die at 30 days of age.

Also in 1992, conjoined twins are born to the Lamont family of Trinidad. They undergo separation in New York City but sadly both die.

Ian and Nathan Pulley are born in Massachusetts in 1992. The ischiopagus or parapagus tripus twins have so many difficulties that their mother files a "wrongful birth" suit against the hospital for failing to detect the abnormal pregnancy in time for her to have an abortion. Nevertheless, the twins are successfully separated in Philadelphia in 1995.

Catherine and Helena Kock are born in South Africa in 1992 and undergo separation surgery on April 3, 1993.

Filipino twin brothers Chen Yi-Weh and Chen Yi-Teh are separated in Taiwan on January 6, 1992. They had been born joined at the chest and abdomen.

Craniopagus twin brothers, united at the side of the head, are born at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia on February 18, 1992. Subsequent tests reveal that the brothers share parts of their brains and cannot be separated, and they are taken home by their parents.

Omphalopagus twin sisters Manda and Adinda are born in Indonesia on March 23, 1992, and separated on September 23.

Andrea and Brenda Pastrana are born in Colombia on March 28, 1992, and are separated on August 10. Brenda dies three days after surgery.

Conjoined sisters Kegnide-Yvette and Taye-Yvonne are born in the French-speaking West African country of Benin on April 4, 1992, and surgically separated in Italy on March 28, 1993.

Mario and Beniamino di Conza are born in Avellino, Italy to Rosa and Angelo di Conza on October 11, 1992. A 14-member team at Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital, led by Dr. Edward Kiely, separates the dicephalus twin boys on September 2, 1993, leaving each brother with one leg and half a pelvis. Both twins are progressing well when Mario tragically dies in a choking accident in 1994.

Ischiopagus tripus twins Gita and Zita Rezakhanova are born in the former Soviet republic of Kyrgyzstan in Central Asia in 1992. The twins live most of their childhood in a hospital and cannot walk. They undergo separation in Moscow on April 2, 2003. The 10-hour surgery to separate the girls who share one urinary bladder, two kidneys, one pelvis and three legs, is deemed successful by hospital surgeons who perform the operation for free. They are among the oldest conjoined twins to be separated with both surviving, although they still face many difficulties as a result of their conjoinment and of the surgery.

Twins Dao and Duan are born in Thailand on June 6, 1992, joined at the chest and sharing three legs. The sisters are adopted by the Headley family of Pennsylvania and successfully separated on December 3, 1993. They now use the names Katie and Julie.

Sara and Page Johnson are born in North Dakota on June 12, 1992. The omphalopagus twin sisters are successfully separated on August 26 in Minnesota.

A set of triplets born to the Joher family of Jordan on August 7, 1992, includes thoracopagus twins.

Venezuelan conjoined twins Javier Jose and Jose Gregorio Caldera Villalobos, born joined at the abdomen, are separated on August 26 1992.

Conjoined brothers Jose and Gregorio Britto are born in Colombia on October 2, 1992.

Also on October 2, 1992, twins José Patricio and Marcelo Antonio Fuentes are born joined at the chest and abdomen in Chile. They undergo successful separation on June 29, 1993. However, "Chelito", as Marcelo is known, dies of congenital neurological problems on November 24, 2000.

Also in October of 1992, twin brothers Ashlay and Ashil Fokker are born in the West African nation of Mauritania. The boys are attached at the chest, sharing a heart. On December 9, they are surgically separated in South Africa. Ashil dies after surgery.

A rare set of triplets with a conjoined twin set is born in Pakistan on October 8, 1992, Nida, Hira and Fayal Jamal. The twins, Nida and Hira are joined at the head and brought to Toronto to be separated in 1995. The surgery is initially thought to be successful but tragically Nida dies of congenital kidney problems on February 22, 1995.

The third set of conjoined twins born in Chile within a 10-day period, boys conjoined at the chest, are born in Santiago on October 10, 1992, but both die a few hours after birth.

Omphalopagus twin boys are born in Florida in November of 1992 and undergo separation on December 12. One brother dies on December 14, while the other dies on January 1, 1993.

Hannah and Hayley Grzych are born in Houston, Texas, to an Indiana woman, Carla Grzych, on November 15, 1992. Hannah is stillborn, so the twins are separated in an emergency operation at the Houston hospital. Hayley's follow-up care is handled by the Riley Children's Hospital in Indianapolis. Today, she is a healthy, active teenager.

Also on November 15, 1992, rare parapagus dipus twins Rosa and Carmen Tavares Martínez are born in the Dominican Republic. They undergo separation in New York on June 7, 1993.

In Malaysia, ischiopagus tetrapus twin sisters Siti Fatimah Azaharah and Siti Fatimah Tahirah Abdul Malik are born on December 10, 1992. They are separated on April 18, 1993, with both surviving.

Ischiopagus tetrapus twins Peter and Paul Clemenia are born on February 23, 1993, in the Philippines. They are successfully separated on May 22, 1995.

Brittany Lynn Renee and Tiffany Lynn Brenea Lewis, pygopagus twins, are born to a Kentucky family on May 12, 1993. The sisters share a single kidney and Tiffany has multiple other problems. She passes away two days after a July 27 separation operation.

Thoracopagus twin girls are born in the United Arab Emirates on August 14, 1993, but both die during an attempt to separate them.

Abigail and Bella-María Varela Marroquín are born in Washington, D.C., on August 29, 1993. The omphalopagus twin sisters are successfully separated in Baltimore on September 3.

Mahlatse and Nthabieseng Makwaeba are born joined at the side of the head in South Africa on September 23, 1993. The sisters are separated on June 14, 1994, in an operation led by Dr. Benjamin Carson of Johns Hopkins Medical Center. Sadly, both girls die of blood loss.

Andrew and Joseph Sonnevil are born in Michigan on October 26, 1993. Conjoined at the abdomen, they are successfully separated in Minnesota on December 17.

Conjoined girls are born to the Ortega family of Colombia on October 31, 1993, but survive only one day.

Thoracopagus twin girls, Thi Diep and Thi Ho, are born in Vietnam in November of 1993. Thi Diep dies following a March 14, 1994, operation to separate them.

In December of 1993, omphalopagus twin boys Kulwa and Doto are born in Tanzania. They are separated on February 20, 1994, and Kulwa dies.

Ischiopagus tetrapus twin sisters, Margaret and Susana, are born in Mexico on December 7, 1993, and separated in Canada on June 5, 1994. Sadly, both twins die.

Aracelia and Cecilia Gatti are born in Argentina on December 26, 1993. They undergo separation on October 24, 1994.

Megan and Shannon Fanning are born conjoined at the abdomen in Illinois on March 24, 1994 and separated just one day after birth. Their father, Larry Fanning, chronicles their story in his book Separated Angels.

Dicephalus tetrabrachius twin girls Sabah and Samah are born in Saudi Arabia on August 13, 1994, and separated on April 12, 1995.

Mohamed and Ahmed al-Suwaidi, ischiopagus tetrapus twins, are born in Oman on December 26, 1994. Separation surgery is performed on August 17, 1995, with both twins surviving.

In the mid-1990s, twin girls , Farah and Saba Khatoon are born in India. As of late 2005, the then 10-year-old twin sisters were still connected and awaiting possible future separation surgery. BBC Profile of the twins in photos. Dr. Ben Carson of Johns Hopkins in Baltimore offers to separate the twins in 2005 but as of March 2006 the twins were still conjoined

Chantal and Sashel Adams are born in Trinidad in 1993 and only survive for a few days.

On August 20, 1993, conjoined two-month old sisters Amy and Angela Lakeburg of Indiana are medically separated in a Philadelphia surgery in which it is decided that the weaker Amy will be allowed to die so Angela be given a chance to survive. The two twins, who share just one heart and liver, grip the heart of the United States, but tragically Angela dies less than a year later as well. Later stories reveal the sad news that the Lakeburg's father sold video rights to the twins separation surgery and used that money to purchase drugs.

In Houston, Texas, Ja'Nishia and Ja'Lishia Lewis are born January 5, 1994, conjoined at the chest and sharing a heart. Their mother declines a high-risk separation procedure and instead takes the babies home. Ja'Nishia and Ja'Lishia remarkably defy all odds and live to the age of six years, making them the second longest-lived heart-joined twins on record.

Omphalopagus twins Monique and Donna Krige, as well as a non-conjoined triplet sister Carmen, are born in South Africa on July 14, 1994 and separated two days after birth.

In Texas, Hannah and Bethany Rainey are born to a military family in September of 1994. The ischio-omphalopagus tripus twins undergo successful separation on March 7, 1995.

[Back to Chronological Timeline of Conjoined Twins Timeline]