VANCOUVER - The family of conjoined twins in B.C. has been told it could be another three weeks before doctors have any certain answers on the girls' future together - or apart.
The parents and grandparents of Tatiana and Krista Hogan accompanied the girls to Vancouver from their home in Vernon to consult on the weekend with the twins' chief neurosurgeon.
Step-grandfather Doug McKay said the family was "stumbling through the dark" before Saturday's meeting, not knowing what the outcome might be.
"They told us they were a long way from (finding out if they could be separated)," he said. "They have to send out all the reports and wait for answers from all over the place."
The family did learn that Tatiana is circulating more blood through both the girls' brains.
"Other than that, they're not sure what's going on yet," McKay said.
The infants' condition is of great interest to doctors around the world because they are craniopagus twins - joined at the top of the skull and with fused brain stems. This category represents only about two per cent of conjoined twins.
The family will stay in Vancouver for a few more days while the babies are examined.
McKay said the family would like the girls to be able to live separate lives but won't be disappointed if they remain conjoined. They now weigh about 23 pounds combined.
"It would be nice to have them separated, but if they can't, they can't," he said "It's one of those things.
"We just go on with life and make the life the best we can for the girls."
The girls were born at B.C. Children's Hospital in Vancouver in October. Their mother, Felicia Simms, and father Brendan Hogan have two other children.
They underwent an angiogram earlier this week to get a picture of what blood vessels are shared and how feasible it is to separate them.
Last December, pediatric neurosurgeon Dr. Doug Cochrane said a team of physicians would define what information is communicated from one sister to the other and vice versa.
Occupational and physiotherapists have been working with them in Vernon and they make regular visits to a pediatrician.
Conjoined twins occur once in every 2.5 million births. Most don't survive past the first 24 hours.
