The parents of three-year-old conjoined twins face a difficult decision because their daughters are growing too big for the heart they share
The parents of three-year-old conjoined twins face a difficult decision because their daughters are growing too big for the heart they share
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Dilemma: Emma and Tayloru00a0 share a single heart, but must be separated if they are to survive |
Emma and Taylor Bailey, who live in Phoenix, Arizona with their mum Mandy and dad Tor, were born with the same heart and liver. They were only expected to live for 15 minutes after doctors predicted their lungs would crush their heart as soon as they took their first breath.
But the pair, who are fused from their breastbone to their belly button, survived. However, as the girls grow, their shared heart is becoming weaker and could fail if they are not separated.
Doctors have suggested the operation should take place in one to two years' time, with both girls likely to need heart transplants and one a new liver.
Emma and Taylor's parents said there was "a tiny window of time" to decide on whether to go ahead with the surgery.
"We have to get it completely right, if we wait too long then the operation cannot go ahead," Mandy said.
If the operation is successful, it will be the first time twins born with one heart will have been separated.
