Conjoined twins born fused together have been living in Indonesia in an ultra rare case, a medical journal has revealed.
The twin boys are joined together “like a spider” and were born with three legs and four arms in 2018, according to the American Journal of Case Reports.
Both boys have functioning upper limbs but were fused near their pelvis, and share a bladder and intestines.
Just a handful of so-called Ischiopagus Tripus conjoined twins have been recorded, the MailOnline reports.
The toddlers were unable to sit up until they were three years old and were forced to lie flat until surgeons managed to amputate one of the twin’s legs to allow them to be positioned upright.
Conjoined twins account for one in 50,000 to 200,000 births and in two-thirds of cases at least one twin either dies or is stillborn.
Their parents did not expect the ultra rare phenomenon and there was no family history of congenital anomalies.
The family already have two other children and there were no significant events or illnesses in the weeks before the children were born.
Their mother did not take any supplements, medicines, or traditional herbal concoctions.
She was also routinely checked by a midwife during her pregnancy, an American health report revealed.
The twins suffered no complications during surgery or three-months on from the operation.
The report explained that the boys were able to move more following their operation and that there are very few reports of similar successful operations.
It added: “In our case, we learned that surgical management might provide improvement in quality of life, even though the patients were not candidates for separation surgery.”
