Conjoined twins face possible separation

A pair of five-day-old twins joined from the abdomen to the chest was taken to the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) in Manila yesterday for possible separation.

Angela and Angel May are the first-born children of couple Vilma and Reynaldo Garganta of Sawang Uson, Masbate City.

The twins are a mixed blessing for Vilma and Reynaldo, who are both 25.

The couple had been married for four years before Vilma got pregnant, Reynaldo said in an interview.

"We waited for so long. When we finally saw our children, we felt a mixture of happiness and sadness. We are happy to have them. But we are worried over what kind of future our children would have because of their condition," Reynaldo said in Filipino.

Reynaldo, who fishes for a living, knew he would not be able to afford an operation for their children.

But news of their case spread like wildfire in their hometown of Masbate when the twins caught the attention of local media.

The couple were soon contacted by people sent by Philippine National Red Cross governor and Sen. Richard Gordon.

"They arranged for our travel from Masbate to this hospital. We hope that our children can get an operation so they could live normal lives. Despite their condition, we believe they are blessings from heaven," Reynaldo said.

Dr. Josefina Almonte, head of the Department of Pediatric Surgery at PGH, said there are different kinds of conjoined twins.

The Garganta girls are a "thoracopagus" case because they are bound together from the abdomen to the chest, she explained.

But Almonte said PGH surgeons still have to determine if the twins qualify for a separative operation. Thoracopagus twins sometimes share important organs like the heart, liver and intestines. "We have to know the extent of their sharing of organs. There are so many things to do. They still have to undergo angiogram and other procedures."

Almonte said conjoined twins are best separated between the ages of two months and one year. She said they might have difficulty establishing separate identities once they reach the age of one.

The birth of conjoined twins is fairly rare, occurring once in every two million births worldwide. Births of separate twins, on the other hand, are more common, occurring once every 400,000 births.

Almonte said the PGH has the track record to perform separative surgery on the Garganta twins if they qualify for the procedure. The PGH, she said, has performed 12 successful operations on conjoined twins since 1974.