Baby born with two heads readied for surgery (1 Viewer)

[ThomasC]

http://www.cnn.com/2004/HEALTH/02/06....ap/index.html

 

[Paul_Sjordal]

I'm sure if that were my child that I might make the same decision. I can understand why the parents did it, I can understand why the doctors did it, I'm not asking anyone to not do this, but still something about this makes me a little uneasy morally.

 

[Dome Vongvises]

Easy decision for me.

 

[Malcolm R]

A chance to give a child a "normal" life rather than growing up ridiculed continuously and discriminated against at every opportunity?

Easy decision here, too.

 

[Brett_H]

{Shudder}

That is one creepy mental picture....

-Brett.

 

[Matt Pelham]

Geez, I wonder how the second head feels about the procedure.

 

[ThomasC]

It would take so much more time and effort to take care of her if the surgery wasn't done.

 

[MarkHastings]

Instead of thinking of it as killing the other brain, think of it as putting the partially developed head out of its missery. I can just imagine the complications the kid would have if no operation was done. The 2nd head might die off and cause more serious complications.

It's sad, but it's probably the best.

 

[ChrisMatson]

In this case, two heads is not better than one. From what I have read, there have only been eight documented cases of this condition (craniopagus parasiticus) and little Rebeca Martinez is the only one known to be delivered alive.

Rebeca's best chance for having anything approaching a "normal" quality of life is to have the malformation removed to protect her brain.

 

[Scott L]

mmm I imagine in a perfect world we'd all be walking around showing off our deformities and differences like in 5th Element. The modern world ain't ready for a 2-headed human! Science included.

 

[PhillJones]

There was a documentary aired on Channel 4 in Britain before I left about this condition. They talked about a case of a chinese boy who had his little brother inside of him. They thought it was a tumour. It wasn't till they removed it that the doctors knew what they had. An expert in the field said that she thought half to a third of all pregnancies are twins but that usually one dies. Sometimes, the dying twin connects itself to the healthy twin and this is the result.

This being the first ever case of it type, there's no data but I would imagine survival chances would be very slim if no intervention took place, and, the head is only partially developed, so I'd have thought the brain wouldn't be viable.

I don't think it's a difficult decision.

 

[Jeff Perry]

Craniopagus parasiticus?? Who comes up with these silly names?

Why do scientists feel the need to have a special "science word" for everything, usually ending in "us"? Seems ridiculous to me.

 

[MarkHastings]

Because it's latin, but why do things always have to be named after latin words????

 

[Rob Gillespie]

Because latin forms the basis of most modern (western) languages.

 

[Ryan Wishton]

Hey guys,

I saw this on a different site as well...

I cant imagine how the mother breast feeds... I know these are her children and all, but I dont know if I could bring myself to do it... Bottles all the way...

The full picture was taken down for some reason, but the second head was really creepy... The head was gigantic... I dont think it had eyes (but looked like it did... Hard to explain), a nose, and a smirk on it's face... The head is alive as well... It's not like it's dead... It reminds you of something you would totally see in a horror movie... The second head reminds me of a mongaloid... Thats how it was shaped and looked...

When the mother breast feeds the one, the other heads mouth moves... Imagine in a few years if both heads start to talk...

It's truly creepy... I truly feel awful for both babies... It's not fair... But, it would be very unfair to leave things like this for both children...

I mean in all reality, the second head would never be able to live a normal life...

 

[ChrisMatson]

It may an interesting theoretical experiment to see what would happen if the parasitic head had a normal brain. It appeared that the eyes were not formed, the external ears seemed to to deformed, and there was a partial mouth and nose. The head would not be able to speak, as there is no connecion to a larynx and no respiratory system to move air. The second head would not be able to eat, as there is no esophagus and digestive system. The parasitic head appears to be drawing adequate nutrition from the intermingled blood supply. Depending on the development of the nervous system, the second head may be able to feel, hear, smell and taste. This would be as close as one could come to having a brain exist without a body.

But alas, this is not a theoretical experiment and the well-being of Rebeca is the only issue at stake.

---
Oh, and about the "latin"
What would you call the condition?
In less than two words?
Craniopagus parasiticus
Cranio=Head (Greek)
Pagos=That which is fixed (Greek)
Parasit=person who eats at someone else's table (Greek "parastos")
-icus=pertaining to (Latin)

 

[Malcolm R]

Don't those depend on respiratory function as well?

 

[ChrisMatson]

No.

Smell depends on volatile chemicals hitting receptors in the upper part of your nose. You may smell better by inhaling deeply to take in more of the chemical, but it is not required, per se.

Taste also depends on chemicals activating receptors on your tongue and in your pharynx (pharynx is minor, but there is no pharynx in this case).

 

[Rob Gillespie]

Looks like the op was a success. The child will be in intensive care for a while but it's looking good so far.

 

[Julian Reville]

Factum est illud, fieri infectum non potest.

(Done is done, it cannot be made undone.)