Post date: Dec 21, 2011 6:41:3 PM
A two-headed baby is born healthy in Brazil with a single heart but two functioning brains and doctors evaluate if it will be possible to remove one of the heads.
ANAJAS, BRAZIL (DECEMBER 20, 2011) (JR AVELAR) - Doctors in Brazil are unsure whether they can operate on a baby born with two heads, although the newborn boy is in stable condition, doctors said on Wednesday (December 21).
The rare condition occurs when one of the two conjoined twins fails to fully develop in the womb.
The "twins", named Jesus and Emanuel, have two brains, two backbones and a single heart.The 4.5-kilo baby was born by Caesarean at daybreak on Monday in a small hospital in the northern state of Para and was rushed by plane to a better equipped hospital in the state capital Belem.
Doctor Neila Dahas, who is treating the newborn, said separating the heads would be impossible because he only has one set of organs.
"What we know statistically is that the children who undergo surgery and survive are the children who have less organs in common," he said.
She added that it is still difficult to choose which head to remove because both brains are functioning well.
The doctors said the mother breastfed both heads a few times and that the baby's appetite is normal.