‘No surgery for two-headed baby in Brazil’

Brazil: Doctors in Brazil said Thursday they have decided for now not to attempt to surgically separate a set of conjoined twins who have two heads but share one body and various vital organs.

Doctor Neila Dahas of the Santa Casa de Misericordia Hospital in the northern town of Belem, saying in a statement that “it is impossible to take a decision with relation to surgery, not only because of physical reasons, but ethical ones as well.” The two-headed newborn is actually a set of conjoined twins sharing one body because of a rare birth defect, doctors said Thursday.

The twins, born on Monday and named Jesus and Emanuel in honor of the upcoming Christmas holiday, have distinct brains and spinal cords but share internal organs, appearing externally as a single baby with two heads. Because both brains are functioning and the twins are in stable condition, doctors have ruled out any kind of surgery for the moment, according to the Santa Casa de Misericordia Hospital in the northern town of Belem. AFP