The B.C. family of six-month-old conjoined twins has been told by doctors that the chance their daughters can be separated is slim.
CTV Vancouver reported the family was in seclusion Friday night, awaiting Saturday's announcement on whether doctors can safely operate on the twins, who are attached at the head.
On Thursday, doctors at B.C. Children's Hospital in Vancouver performed a cerebral angiography to determine the function of the bridge of tissue connecting the girls' brain stems.
The twins share two out of the four lobes of the brain, as well as an unusual bridge of brain tissue and blood vessels.
Dark blue dye was injected into the twins' veins in order to illuminate the maze of blood vessels the girls share.
If the tests reveal the bridge is used to transmit brain signals then surgery can't be undertaken, but if the bridge turns out to be only tissue, separating the twins may be an option.
If doctors confirm the girls can be separated, the 21-year-old mother of the twins, Felicia Simms, will be faced with the decision whether to proceed with the elective surgery.
The family told medical officials in March that even with a green light from doctors, they would have to weigh the physical and psychological ramifications of separating the girls before they made a decision.
In a previous interview with 愛污传媒, Simms said: "I really haven't made a decision on whether I want them to be separated or not yet. You're toying with two little angel's lives if you do."
Simms maintains that if the girls have no chance of separation, she will still feel blessed to have two beautiful daughters.
In March, doctors said the twins are developing much like other children their age.
There is less than a 50 per cent survival rate for such a complicated operation.
It is the first such case of twins conjoined at the head in British Columbia, although two previous sets of conjoined twins attached at the abdomen and one joined at the chest have been born in the province.
The girls are unique even in terms of conjoined twins. Doctors have found in addition to the bridge joining their brains, the sisters sleep and feel independent of each other.
The odds of giving birth to identical conjoined twins attached at the head are one in two million.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Michele Brunoro
