How Common Are Siamese Twins?
Siamese Twins are extremely rare. They occur about once per 100,000 pregnancies. Often times, only one half of the attached eggs will develop into a baby, while the other side doesn’t, so babies are sometimes born with the undeveloped twin attached to them. Separating Siamese Twins No matter how they look on the outside, Siamese twins are two different people with different ideas and interests. Normally doctors will try to separate the twins if they can. The success rate of these surgeries vary depending on where the twins are attached and what organs they share, but it’s usually pretty risky. In 2003, 29 year-old Siamese twins from Iran had surgery to be separated but both died. However, about 75 percent of separations are successful. Siamese Twins – Did U Know? • Siamese twins get their name from the famous conjoined twins Chang and Eng who traveled with the Barnum and Bailey circus in the 1800s. They were from Siam, now known as Thailand. • The first successful separation of Siamese
