365 Days of Twinipedia - Day 101

Day One Hundred & One of Twinipedia Facts

Fact #101

Never in a million years would we have thought that as far back as 1689, doctors were already Successfully separating conjoined twins.  Now at the time these types of twins were referred to as Siamese twins.

The first twins to be separated were Elizabeth and Catherine Mayer. They were joined "in the region between the Xiphoid process and the umbilicus". Since the Xiphoid process is the tip of your sternal bone that helps keep your rib cage from flopping open, and your umbilicus is basically your belly button region, the girls were joined just below their rib cages and just above their belly buttons.  The location these twins are joined is one were the twins are less likely to be connected together by any vital organs other than perhaps their liver/s.  

Their doctor, Johannes Fotio performed the surgery in Brazilea. He was able to "separate the umbilical vessels" of the twins and then transected," (cut and connect) "the bridging tissues that were between the girls."


They girls survived the surgery and were the beginning of a long medical history of conjoined twins being separated throughout the world.

To read the entire article that shared these facts along with other interesting conjoined twin's stories, go to
http://www.bmj.sk/2004/10502-01.pdf