First Successful Separation of Craniopagus Twins in India—Plastic Surgical Considerations

Separation of total vertical craniopagus with shared venous sinuses poses multiple challenges. Provision of soft-tissue cover to the exposed brains at the time of total separation is one of them, due to the large size of the defect and paucity of local tissues. Staged separation of twins is advised...

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Main Authors: Maneesh Singhal, Shanmuganathan Raja Sabapathy, Deepak Gupta, A. K. Mahapatra, Shashank Chauhan, Raja Tiwari, Hari Venkatramani, Shweta Kedia, Shivangi Saha, Shamendra Anand Anand Sahu, Suvashis Dash, Megha Sodhi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Thieme Medical and Scientific Publishers Pvt. Ltd. 2022-02-01
Series:Indian Journal of Plastic Surgery
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Online Access:http://www.thieme-connect.de/DOI/DOI?10.1055/s-0041-1740406
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Summary:Separation of total vertical craniopagus with shared venous sinuses poses multiple challenges. Provision of soft-tissue cover to the exposed brains at the time of total separation is one of them, due to the large size of the defect and paucity of local tissues. Staged separation of twins is advised with partial venous and parenchymal disconnection in the first stage and total separation in the second stage. Tissue expanders are inserted in the first stage, and second stage planned to coincide with the period of adequate expansion. In the child being reported, emergency second stage was done due to the deteriorating general condition of the children. Left with inadequate expanded skin, the critical defect in a twin was managed with bilateral trapezius myocutaneous flaps. High ionotropic support of the postoperative period resulted in superficial necrosis of the flap, which was managed by debridement, allograft application and autograft later. Both twins had well-healed wounds by 3 months.
ISSN:0970-0358
1998-376X