VietNamNet Bridge – A woman in the southern province of An Giang gave birth to twins who conjoined at the chest on February 23.

The family said that during the pregnancy, the woman had periodic antenatals. Doctors only discovered that she had the twins, not conjoined twins. On the day in labor, the woman was suddenly informed that her two sons were conjoined at the chest.

Born on February 23, each baby weighed 2 kg. The twins were transferred to the HCM City Children's Hospital 1 for a separation surgery.

Dr. Dao Trung Hieu, deputy director of the HCM City Children's Hospital 1, said the babies have conjoined sternums, with a large hole between it. Through this hole, part of the heart of the first baby enters the second child’s chest and vice versa.

Doctors also discovered that the two babies have congenital heart disease. Particularly, the first baby has narrowed blood vessels from the heart, only one kidney, no anus and the spine has abnormalities in the neck and tailbone. The second child has fluid in the kidney and ureter abnormalities.

"After making all the tests and diagnosis, we thought of surgery to separate the two bodies because the first baby does not have an anus. Without an operation, it may lead to fence congestion, causing infection," Dr. Hieu said.

In related news, one baby in the conjoined twins who were separated at the HCM City Children's Hospital 2 last November died on February 23.

The baby - named Nguyen Hoang Phi Phung - was on life-support and died due to pneumonia and blood poisoning. His brother is still recovering from the surgery and will be released from the hospital soon.

The twins were born in Ninh Thuan conjoined between the thorax and the abdomen. They shared a heart, liver, biliary tract and had a defective abdominal wall and thorax.

The twins were born prematurely at a local medical clinic on Sept. 25, 2012. Doctors successfully separated the twins during a 10-hour procedure at Children Hospital 2 on Nov. 25, 2013.

Le Ha