Conjoined twins in Syria, who could have been saved with surgery outside the country, have died.
They were kept in a private facility awaiting evacuation, but the government did not respond to requests to allow them out of Syria.
They are among many children who have lost their lives in a failing health system.
Al Jazeera’s Caroline Malone reports.
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In This Story: Conjoined Twins
Conjoined twins are twins that are born with their bodies physically connected. Conjoined twins occur once in every 50,000 to 60,000 births. Approximately 70 percent of conjoined twins are female.
Conjoined twins share a placenta and amniotic sac, although these characteristics are not exclusive to conjoined twins, as there are some non-conjoined twins who also share these structures in utero.
Chang and Eng Bunker (1811–1874) were brothers born in Siam (modern day Thailand) who traveled widely for many years and were labeled as The Siamese Twins. Chang and Eng were joined at the torso. In modern times, they could have been easily separated. Due to the brothers’ fame and the rarity of the condition, the term “Siamese twins” came to be used as a synonym for conjoined twins.