Conjoined Twins: Experience in an Irish Tertiary Centre

Abstract

Conjoined twins are rare, with a reported incidence of 0.19 per 10,000 pregnancies in Europe. We discuss four spontaneous conjoined twin pregnancies presenting to a tertiary referral centre from 2005 to 2011, diagnosed on antenatal dating ultrasound. The cases were monitored closely throughout pregnancy by a multidisciplinary team, with serial surveillance, including ultrasound, fetal echocardiography, magnetic resonance imaging, amniocentesis and further referral to cardiology and paediatric surgery specialists, where indicated. Three female sets were determined antenatally to be not surgically separable; these infants were managed palliatively following a live birth. The male set of conjoined twins was accepted for surgical separation at Great Ormond Street Hospital, London, which was successfully performed electively at 4 months. Of interest, all four parents reside within 20 km of each other, representing a possible cluster of cases. The incidence of conjoined twins in our local population is approximately 0.63 per 10,000 over an 8-year period from 2005 to 2012. This case series highlights a cluster of conjoined twins, managed to viability and delivered in a tertiary referral centre.

Keywords::

• Conjoined twins
• investigation
• management
• prenatal diagnosis

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.