Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 Apr 28;9(17):CASE24818.
doi: 10.3171/CASE24818. Print 2025 Apr 28.

Emergency neurosurgical separation of pygopagus conjoined twins in a triplet pregnancy: illustrative case

Endris Hussen Ali  1 , Yared Nigusie Abebe  2 , Milena Gebreegziabher Haile  2 , Abera Bayable  2
Affiliations

Emergency neurosurgical separation of pygopagus conjoined twins in a triplet pregnancy: illustrative case

Endris Hussen Ali et al. J Neurosurg Case Lessons. .

Abstract

Background: Conjoined twins are a rare type of congenital malformation. The point of attachment is the primary factor used to classify conjoined twins; typically, this is front to front, with thoracopagus and omphalopagus twins accounting for about 75% of cases and pygopagus twins only between 6% and 19%.

Observations: This is a case report of 46-day-old female triplets born to a 37-year-old para 4 mother. Triplets A and B were conjoined at the lumbosacrococcygeal area dorsally. Triplet C was not conjoined. The conjoined triplets had a low birth weight; hence, it was decided to start nutritional management and achieve adequate weight gain before surgical separation. While on nutritional management, at 46 days of age, triplet B developed cardiorespiratory failure. Therefore, the multidisciplinary team decided to proceed with emergency neurosurgical separation surgery, with the primary aim of saving triplet A. Triplet B died 7 hours after the surgery due to irreversible cardiorespiratory failure, and triplet A remained in the hospital for 14 days and was discharged with intact neurological function.

Lessons: Most cases of conjoined twins do not require emergency separation surgery and need nutritional support before the separation procedure. Separation surgery requires a multidisciplinary team meeting, planning ahead of time, and preparation. https://thejns.org/doi/10.3171/CASE24818.

Keywords: conjoined twins; malformation; neurosurgical; pygopagus; separation; triplets.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

FIG. 1.
FIG. 1.
Preoperative photograph of conjoined triplets A and B.
FIG. 2.
FIG. 2.
Preoperative T2-weighted MR image demonstrating the U-shaped thecal sac with its contents.
FIG. 3.
FIG. 3.
Intraoperative photographs showing skin exposure, laminar and spinous process (sp) defects, thecal sac exposure, and intradural conus, nerve root, and filum separation.
FIG. 4.
FIG. 4.
Postoperative photograph of triplet A at the 1-month follow-up.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Khan YA.. Ischiopagus tripus conjoined twins. APSP J Case Rep. 2011;2(1):5. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Jain P Kundal AK Sharma R Khilnani P Kumar P Kumar P.. Surgical separation of pygopagus twins: a case report. J Pediatr Surg Case Rep. 2014;2(3):119-122.
    1. Yokota C, Kagawa N, Bamba Y.Successful neurosurgical separation of conjoined spinal cords in pygopagus twins: illustrative cases. J Neurosurg Case Lessons. 2021;1(9):CASE218. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Hirokazu T Takayuki I Yoshinori H Kazunari K Akio A Keiji K.. Separation surgery of pygopagus asymmetrical conjoined twins sharing U-shaped spinal cord: case report and literature review. Childs Nerv Syst. 2013;29(4):699-706. - PubMed
    1. Sabeh-Ayoun K Al Tahan H Akel S Zaghal A.. Successful separation of pygopagus conjoined twins: a case report. J Pediatr Surg Case Rep. 2023;99.

LinkOut - more resources