PRESENT POINT POWER

Above:A full length view of the cojoined twins with no Anus

Above: Nurse attending to the twins in an incubator at the hospital in Jakarta

This is of course not the first time but this pair of "Siamese co-joined" is a rare variant. Officially called a dicephalus baby. Officially named Syafitri by her mother - insisting her as one baby.

JAKARTA : Doctors in Indonesia have found more complications in a baby born with two heads, but they say she is in stable condition.

A team of experts is being assembled to determine how she can be treated.

Doctors at a Jakarta hospital thought they were supposed to deliver a set of twins from a 30-year-old mother.

But they didn't know the full extent of the babies' condition until she was born.

Though she has two heads and two spines, there is only one pair of limbs and a set of internal organs.

The parents named her Syafitri, insisting there is only one baby.

Doctors said she is a rare variant of conjoined twins.

"The biggest challenge now is treating the heart because there is quite a complex deformity which could only be fixed by conducting surgery," said paediatrician Dr Ketut Lila Murti.

A closed up of the "twins"

Syafitri's breathing is assisted by a machine to ensure there is enough oxygen flow from her heart to the two heads.

And because of the breathing difficulty, the fourth child in the family has not been feeding normally.

Diagnostic tests have revealed even more complications.

Another Closer view of the baby named Syafitri

"The baby does not have an anus, so there's no outlet for the waste. However there's a passage from the colon that leads to the urethra. The waste goes to the urethra," said radiologist Dr Rien Yuniantari.

The hospital has assembled a team of experts to closely examine the baby before proposing the next course of action.

But at this juncture, they said, the baby's vital organs are functioning and her life is in no immediate danger.

But the odds are stacked against baby Syafitri.

Conjoined twins occur in an estimated one in 200,000 births with only 5 to 25 percent survival rate.

- CNA /ls

The following is an earlier report

Thu Aug 10, 9:23 AM ET

JAKARTA (AFP) - Doctors in Indonesia have said they were unsure whether they would be able to operate on a two-headed baby, who was born earlier this week.

The medical team at the Pelni Petamburan Hospital in Jakarta is still deciding how to treat the baby, said hospital spokeswoman Dyah Purwanti Thursday.

The baby girl was born after a caesarian operation on August 8 "in a healthy condition ... and with complete organs" said Purwanti.

The newborn -- officially called a dicephalus baby -- was formed the same way as Siamese twins but only has one body, one set of organs and two arms and legs, doctors said.

Several pairs of Siamese twins born in Indonesia have undergone successful separation operations.

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