Identical twins survive surgery in womb

November 9, 2007

British doctors say identical twin boys were born healthy after undergoing surgery while in the womb to treat a life-threatening illness.

The Telegraph newspaper said Thomas and Nathaniel Spence-Hamblin suffered from a condition called twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome, which meant blood vessels in their shared placenta were attached to each other.

If left untreated, one baby would have received too much blood while the other would not have had enough.

The surgery was very risky, with at least one fetus failing to survive in most cases, the newspaper said.

The boys, however, were born healthy Sept. 26.

Copyright 2007 by United Press International


print this article email this article download pdf blog this article bookmark this article     Stumble it Digg this share on Facebook retweet share on Reddit add to delicious
Rate this story - 5 /5 (2 votes)


November 9, 2007 all stories

Comments: 0

5 /5 (2 votes)
  • Stumble this up

  • Digg this

  • share this

  • hide
  • Related Stories




  • hide
  • Relevant PhysicsForums posts

Other News

Are angry women more like men?

Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry

created 15 hours ago | popularity 4.7 / 5 (3) | comments 6

"Why is it that men can be bastards and women must wear pearls and smile?" wrote author Lynn Hecht Schafran. The answer, according to an article in the Journal of Vision, may lie in our interpretation of facial expressions.


How to read brain activity?

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

created 21 hours ago | popularity 3.8 / 5 (5) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- For the very first time, scientists show what EEG can really tell us about how the brain functions.


Stem cells battle for space

Medicine & Health / Research

created 15 hours ago | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

The body is a battle zone. Cells constantly compete with one another for space and dominance. Though the manner in which some cells win this competition is well known to be the survival of the fittest, how stem cells duke ...


Potential new 'twist' in breast cancer detection

Medicine & Health / Cancer

created 15 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Working with mice, scientists at Johns Hopkins publishing in the December issue of Neoplasia have shown that a protein made by a gene called "Twist" may be the proverbial red flag that can accurately distinguish stem cells ...


Muscle cell infusion shown to strengthen sphincters in animals

Medicine & Health / Research

created 18 hours ago | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 1

A new study shows that muscle cells grown in the lab can restore an intestine's ability to squeeze shut properly. The work, performed in dogs and rats, might ultimately help treat patients with conditions such as gastric ...