2 Headed Baby!

[Squeeky]

Disclaimer: Images contained in the news link may be considered NWS, view with caution




http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=589&u=/ap/20040204/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/dominican_two_heads_1&printer=1

omg :jawdrop:


SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic - A Dominican infant born with a second head will undergo a risky operation Friday to remove the appendage, which has a partially formed brain, ears, eyes and lips.

The surgery is complicated because the two heads share arteries.

Led by a Los Angles-based neurosurgeon who successfully separated Guatemalan twins, the medical team will spend about 13 hours removing Rebeca Martinez's second head.

The 18 surgeons, nurses and doctors will cut off the undeveloped tissue, clip the veins and arteries and close the skull of the 7-week-old baby using a bone graft from another part of her body.

"We know this is a delicate operation," Rebeca's father, Franklyn Martinez, 28, told The Associated Press. "But we have a positive attitude."

CURE International, a Lemoyne, Pa.-based charity that gives medical care to disabled children in developing countries, is paying for the surgery and follow-up care.

Dr. Jorge Lazareff, director of pediatric neurosurgery at the University of California at Los Angeles' Mattel Children's Hospital, will lead the operation along with Dr. Benjamin Rivera, a neurosurgeon at the Medical Center of Santo Domingo. Lazareff led a team that successfully separated Guatemalan twin girls in 2002.

Doctors say if the surgery goes well Rebeca won't need physical therapy and will develop as a normal child.

Rebeca was born on Dec. 17 with the undeveloped head of her twin, a condition known as craniopagus parasiticus.

Twins born conjoined at the head are extremely rare, accounting for one of every 2.5 million births. Parasitic twins like Rebeca are even rarer.

Rebeca is the eighth documented case in the world of craniopagus parasiticus, said Dr. Santiago Hazim, medical director at CURE International's Center for Orthopedic Specialties in Santo Domingo, where the surgery will be performed.

All the other documented infants died before birth, making it the first known surgery of its kind, Lazareff and Hazim said.

Hazim said the surgery must be done now so the pressure of Rebeca's other brain doesn't prevent her from developing.

Rebeca shares blood vessels and arteries with her second head. Although only partially developed, the mouth on her second head moves when Rebeca is being breast-fed. Tests indicate some activity in her second brain.

Martinez and his 26-year-old wife, Maria Gisela Hiciano, say doctors told them before Rebeca was born that she would have a tumor on her head, but none of the prenatal tests showed a second head developing.

Martinez works at a tailor's shop. Hiciano is a supermarket cashier. Together they make about $200 a month. They have two other children, ages 4 and 1.

Lazareff says Rebeca's chances of survival are good. Still, he refuses to make a prognosis.

"We'll do everything we can to make this successful," he said.

[Mr1337Duck]

Holy fuck...

[EineBeBoP]

...wow

[kreeten]

Ain't genetics strange?

[Neon Apocalypse]

oh god thats terrible

[HawkEye]

:jawdrop: speechless

[ultraviolet]

:shudder: Crazy. I hope it goes well for the baby.

[Lonehunter]

Whoa...that's...yeah...strange.

[Dharkbayne]

What The Shit?!!?!?!

[TheN00b]

I'm scared now... :eek:

[xuur]

"There, but for the grace of God, go I"

translation: next time you think your life sucks, take a look at that and rejoice in what you have....or dont have.

http://members.cox.net/boba2/Sigs/peace.gif

[Infernus]

Ze apocolypse I tell you... first 2 headed babys, next 4 horsemen, then Baal... we're all gonna die...

[Strygun]

yet another reason we have yet to fully understand genetics.

[Squeeky]

I understand it. You're just out of the loop.

[Strygun]

I understand it. You're just out of the loop.

might want to let some scientists in on the secret.

[Squeeky]

I'll consider it.

[Bighoss]

in science we watched this interview of Watson, the guy that discovered DNA's shape and stuff. Its funny all these people were trying to argue that genetic enhancment or improvment is wrong. This one lady said some incredibly creative people suffered from depression and there are obivously good and bads in some genetic defects. He looks at her like she is retarded and pretty much says no those people have the defect for depression but that does not mean they are creative. They simply happened to have the genes for depression and creativety... I wasn't really going anywhere with this story, it was pretty much just babling

[AztecWarrior]

This is why it happens.

() This is a zygote. A fertilized egg cell, after the sperm and egg meet. Identical twins happen when...

(| |) The zygote completely splits. You have two cells which have identical genetical information. They won't be deformed- these create identical twins. (Non-identical twins form in the rare case of the release of two eggs) However...

(|_|) These are Siamese (attatched) twins. They did not fully separate. They will be born attatched to each other.

What happened here is that the other twin did not develop fully. My 7th grade science teacher told of a kid who had a wierd lump on him. When it was examined, it was an undeveloped Siamese twin. :ugh:

^ And someone said my school sucks.

[Happy lil Elf]

K. That's pretty fucking creepy.

[SDM]

http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/cpress/20040204/lthumb.g020404a.jpg

Why'd they give the creepy head the nice soft pillow?
wtf

[Zodiac]

:ugh:

[Dharkbayne]

http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/cpress/20040204/lthumb.g020404a.jpg

Why'd they give the creepy head the nice soft pillow?
wtf
:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[OneManArmy]

bah genertics aint hard. just stop dipping into your own gene pool, if you know what i mean. Kids family tree probally looks like a telephone pole.

[arctik]

Its a pretty baby in my opinion exept for the second head, im sure the baby will grow up to be strong and good lookin. *Prays for the little one*

[arctik]

http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/cpress/20040204/lthumb.g020404a.jpg

Why'd they give the creepy head the nice soft pillow?
wtf

OMG wow sorry for double posting but that is fucking hillarious SDM, you get me every time. :lol: :lol: :rofl:

[scarpas]

ewww... lol, dat is coo..., i guess...

ps. ...

[Ait'al]

It said the seconds heads partly developed mouth moves when the other is being breastfead suggestin brain activity in the second head. That would legally make it alive under current definitions of life right? so They should be having to consider if its alive. And what if it is and would grow up with the girl and have its own persanality if it remained. Should htey just remove it without considering this? If you say it parasitic, its alive and needing anything is parasitic(its the same needs as the twin thats not being removed) and there the same fetis so techinically the body's both theres.

This also brings something to light, and is a great example of how ive always felt, does the presents or lack of brain activity differentiate life form death(or in this case even the begining of life since we put so much emphasis on it in death), as this is a prime example of the more dificult part of the argument, and more suttle, of which most people arent capable or dont consider normally in there veiws, as it brings out a possibility normaly to hard to consider.

(as you may see where im getting with brain activity being just as important sign of life in the womb. If we currently do not consider this currently with the begining of life but put all emphasis in it at the end, then we have a disruption of any equalibrium we may have thought we had in our veiws of life and death and need to take this into some real considerations.)

[Dharkbayne]

IT IS A CHUNK OF HEAD. IT IS AN INSTINCT THAT IT REACTS. IT IS NOT A PERSON. I REPEAT, A CHUNK OF DEFORMED HEAD. WITH A SOFT PILLOW. That is all.

[Fragmatic]

:rofl:

[Hezzy]

:rofl:

[Happy lil Elf]

It said the seconds heads partly developed mouth moves when the other is being breastfead suggestin brain activity in the second head. That would legally make it alive under current definitions of life right? so They should be having to consider if its alive. And what if it is and would grow up with the girl and have its own persanality if it remained. Should htey just remove it without considering this? If you say it parasitic, its alive and needing anything is parasitic(its the same needs as the twin thats not being removed) and there the same fetis so techinically the body's both theres. I'm not an expert on laws in the Dominican Republic by any means but it really wouldn't suprise me if they aren't legally obligated to keep it alive.

This also brings something to light, and is a great example of how ive always felt, does the presents or lack of brain activity differentiate life form death(or in this case even the begining of life since we put so much emphasis on it in death), as this is a prime example of the more dificult part of the argument, and more suttle, of which most people arent capable or dont consider normally in there veiws, as it brings out a possibility normaly to hard to consider.
(as you may see where im getting with brain activity being just as important sign of life in the womb. If we currently do not consider this currently with the begining of life but put all emphasis in it at the end, then we have a disruption of any equalibrium we may have thought we had in our veiws of life and death and need to take this into some real considerations.)It's going to take someone smarter than anyone on these boards to answer that one and you're getting dangerously close to starting an abortion debate. That would be bad. Why, you ask? Well because you usually have a better chance of jumping out of a plane at 30,000 feet with no parachute and surviving than you do of having a decent debate on abortion.

[Triggar]

Yeah, the abortion debate is a tricky one, but you do make a lot of good points.

Having said that, if I found out that I was pregnant with a kid with two heads, I might not necessarily have an abortion per se, but I'd throw myself down a few flights of stairs. I'd probably deserve it for having pissed God off so much that he made me pregnant with it in the first place.

Now I'm not saying that that baby has any less right to live than a normally formed one, all I'm saying is that if I birthed a kid with two heads, I would freak out so hard you'd have to have me institutionalized. But that's just me.

[Thrik]

It died, by the way.

Link (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/3464491.stm).

[UncleDynamite]

Yeah, the chances of the baby surviving wasn't that great in the first place. I feel sorry for the parents: having to cope with such a crazy deformation and then having their baby die.

[Octavian]

Personally after hearing the second head was just a parasite, I would be pleased they both died. The whole part of it moving when the first baby is being fed freaks me out.

[SDM]

It died, by the way.

Link (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/3464491.stm).
:ugh:

[Mr1337Duck]

As for the second head, assuming the poor kid lived, it'd depend how formed it is. In the picture it looked really jacked up. There are worse things than being dead, being something like what that second head is is probably one of them.

[Corrosion]

:tear:

[Mr1337Duck]

Not saying I like it, I'm saying that given the choice between a miserable life like what the other head would have had and being dead, I'd rather be dead.

[Octavian]

I think, if the second head had a bit more time to form, then it'd may even have ended up with the ability to think simple thoughts. Which would be pretty freaky.

[Mr1337Duck]

It probably would have died shortly after the baby was born anyway, killing both kids.

[Octavian]

Although you must remember it moved slighty when the baby was being breastfed. But 11 hours isn't exactly a short time.

[Sputty]

All children are a plague on humanity and must be destroyed.

[Octavian]

Don't be so negative about everything. You were a child once. Unless you came out full grown, looking like you do now.

[Dharkbayne]

All children are a plague on humanity and must be destroyed.
:rofl: :lol: :rofl: :lol: :rofl: :lol: :rofl: :lol:

[Everay]

100% with sputty, but its a sad thing, and it really makes you think, about humans, and genetics and all that

[Octavian]

Doesn't make me think at all. But it makes me want to grow up to be an evil genetic scientist who toys with humans and turns them into people with two heads, 4 arms, 4 legs, 2 penises, 4 breasts, 2 vaginas, etc.

[Dharkbayne]

:stoppost:

[Octavian]

How was that spam?

[Thrik]

http://tst4.free.fr/GS_bea9d06271fd339ade62bbbe0423e227.png

[Octavian]

Why can't I just post? Even if it isn't spam?