Essay: Conjoined twins or twinning

Imagine having a sibling, waking up with you every morning to find your sibling didn’t go anywhere, but was by your side. Imagine having to do the same things, for instance, riding on the same bike or sitting in the same chair. How do you think life would be like? Would you be able to have any freedom? Do you sometimes feel like you want to disconnect from your sibling? Well, such people are called “conjoined twins”. Conjoined twins share arms, legs, organs, and other body parts. However, they don’t just share these body parts. Instead, they share and take intimacy to the extreme. Back then, they were called gods and feared as monsters. People were afraid they might kill or abandon their kids”. Conjoined twins are formed in the last stage of mitosis, which is called Cytokinesis. Many cases have been documented about conjoined twins. One example is a case of two conjoined twin sisters’ named Mary and Eliza Chulkhurst. The world’s most known twins are called the Thoracagopagus twins. In order to separate conjoined twins, a special procedure has to be done, called a “surgical separation”.
To get to the point, let’s break down the word “conjoined twins or twinning” into small chunks to better understand its context. “Twin” comes from Old English meaning to “double” or “two together.” (Check this sentence for correct citation).Twin could also mean, two children who were born at the same time to the same mother. What are conjoined twins? This is a good question. Conjoined twins a.k.a Siamese twins are, “One of two people (identical) born with their bodies joined together by the utero (in Latin “in the womb”). This term (Siamese) is now considered offensive, and is better if said: conjoined twins (“The Oxford Guide to Practical Lexicography” 425).
Although, many conjoined twins are born connected during fertilization, the separation begins in the last stage of Mitosis. Mitosis is a type of cell division that results in two daughter cells having the same number of chromosomes. When the cell divides, two completely different twins are formed. Conjoined twins are formed in the early stages of releasing the egg in the embryo. After the egg gets released, the separation of the egg occurs. How does the separation occur? The separation begins during the last stage of Mitosis. It is called Cytokinesis.
Cytokinesis is when the two daughter cells separate to form twins. First and foremost, in order for conjoined twins to be identical, both genders need to be the same sex. For example, if a mom gave birth to two conjoined twins who were girls, then they would both be from the same gender. Though, how can conjoined twins be the same sex? Well, before the mom gives birth, the egg grows and separates into two fertilized eggs and they share the same amniotic cavity and placenta as well. An amniotic cavity is a closed sac in between the mom’s womb and embryo that contains the amnion fluid. Basically, the fluid-filled space between the amnion and the fetus (“Amniotic Cavity”). The fluid is usually a term women refer to before they give the actual labor or delivery of the baby. They refer to this term as, “I’m broke, and I need to see a doctor.” On the contrary, conjoined twins rarely turn out to be fraternal twins. Most of the time, they turn out to be identical twins at birth.
In the history of conjoined twins, there have been many documented cases of the early twins that existed. Evidently, “One of the earliest documented cases of conjoined twins were Mary and Eliza Chulkhurst. They were born in Biddenden, County of Kent, England in the year 1100, and were joined at the hip (“Facts About the Twins”). These sisters were wealthy; they lived up to 34 years. When Mary and Eliza died, they left a fortune at England’s church. In honor of their generosity, it was a tradition for people to bake biscuits and cakes in remembrance to their pictures and give it to the ones who were in need. The most popular type of conjoined twins are named, Eng and Chang Bunker. Eng and Chang were both born in Thai, today Thailand. These twins were later named after their country, Siam. Shortly, they achieved fame by leaving the country Siam as teenagers. They were connected at the chest.  Before Eng and Chang settled in the U.S., they used to perform at circus shows around the globe. Years later, the twins married two other conjoined twin sisters’, and they had two dozen of kids. At that time, many conjoined twins were classified differently by groups or names (Chang and Eng).
In today’s world, you will see different types of conjoined twins. “There are nearly a dozen different types of conjoined twins. One of the most common classifications are the Thoracopagus twins. These twins are connected at the upper portion of the torso (“Facts About the Twins”). These twins shared one heart. For most twins, it is nearly impossible and difficult for them to be alive at the time of a surgical procedure. The second type of twins are called the Omphalopagus twins. With these twins, they are connected from the breastbone to the waist. Unfortunately, these twins share only one liver, but rarely a heart. Craniopagus twins are joined at the head, and are the rarest of twins to live. In fact, only a small amount of conjoined twins will be joined that way, which might make most surgical separations a stressful task to do in the operating room.
After birth, every conjoined twin needs a professional surgeon to do a procedure called, “surgical separation” in order to separate. A surgical separation is done when two twins are connected. The surgical procedure is risky, and requires accurateness and care. Therefore, the decision to separate twins is a serious one (“Facts About the Twins”). Having a strong decision to separate twins is important. Just saying yes, is not enough. Parents at the time of the operation should ask many questions to better understand how the surgical separation is done. This procedure should be dealt with more seriously, than any other operation done in history. Sometimes, the operation might take some time. It might take hours, days, or even months. Nowadays, surgical separations are rare and many do not survive. The following statistic proves so. “Since 1950, at least one twin has survived separation about 75 percent of the time” (“Facts About the Twins”). During birth, the doctor checks the pregnancy using an ultrasound, or M.R.I (Magnetic Resonance Imaging), to check how these twins might be separated or what organs they share that might make the procedure difficult or risky to perform after they are born.
In order to make the separation possible, doctors must assess and see what organs function, and what the functions might be doing. Separation sometimes can be life-threatening, and may even lead to death for some twins. After the operational procedure is complete, the conjoined twins would have to go to a rehabilitation center, because their spines are dispositioned or not aligned properly. The muscles in their backs must be constantly flexed, so that they straighten up when they stand or move. This inflexed muscle, often makes it difficult for them to move forward or backwards. In most occasions, it is hard for conjoined twins undergo surgery. April Siese, a journalist, editor, and photographer states her point with the separation surgery of Siamese Twins, “In history, the first two conjoined twins who underwent surgery with 70 other surgeries to be separated with Dr. Ben Carson (Neurosurgeon at John Hopkins Children’s Hospital) when they were seven months old, were born in Ulm, Germany in 1987” (Siese). Dr. Ben Carson separated these twins by the head. The downside was that both twins shared a vein. Because of this one vein, the operation would take approximately 22 hours, which is more than the normal time for conjoined twins to be separated. To make the operational procedure easy, special nutritional care needs to be taken into consideration for conjoined twins to survive (Siese).
From a health perspective, nutritional support is very important for conjoined twins when it comes to survival, or in terms of treatment. What may happen if this is delayed is that they could catch infections and or feel a pain in the area the operation was done. Parents need to plan how their twins will be taken care of. They need to seek medical attention when anything too serious happens. Before that, they need to at least see their local doctor for any medical advice or assistance about any health related topics; regardless of whether it is sleeping habits or food. Some of the most important questions parents can ask their doctor are as follows: How do I know if the twins share vital organs? Do the twins share vital organs? Are the twins healthy enough to withstand separation surgery? What are the odds of successful separation? What type of reconstructive surgery might be needed for each twin after successful separation? Having a doctor answer these questions for parents will help find out the underlining causes of why and how conjoined twins are twinned at birth.
From a researcher’s perspective, there aren’t any exact causes as to why conjoined twins are twinned. Researchers’ are still conducting studies to find out the underlying causes of this conjoining. Most studies say it is a hereditary. However, there is one cause as to why conjoined twins are twinned. The process of conjoining begins with two eggs that are released during fertilization or ovulation. Both fertilized eggs are from two completely different sperms. It is possible sometimes for some twins to have two different fathers, which results in two sperms. In this situation, the twins aren’t identical (even if they have the same dad). However, they may or may not look the same. Sometimes, race comes into place. It is possible for some twins to have a mix of race. Some could be black and others could be white.
In conclusion, conjoined twins are two twins connected at birth by the same mother. Most of them don’t survive, and they need special care and nutrition to better meet their needs. While being conjoined, one case was documented on the first two conjoined twins named, Mary and Eliza, who lived 34 years. In today’s world, there are different types of conjoined twins. Some are connected by the head, buttocks, pelvis, and hips. Others are connected by the chest or arms. In order to make both twins’ live a much happy and easy life without having any issues with breathing or eating, a special surgical operations need to be taken into consideration for the twins to be separated. If you were conjoined, how would you feel today?