Doctor rules out surgery for conjoined twins

LM Otero/Associated Press/File 2007Conjoined twins Anastasia (left) and Tatiana Dogaru were brought from Romania to be evaluated for separation surgery. (LM Otero/Associated Press/File 2007)

DALLAS - Twin girls born joined at the head have overcome long odds, but the doctor who brought them to the United States to be evaluated for surgery said there's no longer any chance they will ever lead separate lives.

Anastasia and Tatiana Dogaru, who will be 5 in January, were born in Rome to Romanian parents. The top of Tatiana's head is attached to the back of Anastasia's, meaning the girls have never been able to look each other in the eye.

Tatiana has had to undergo heart surgery. Anastasia has no kidney function and relies on Tatiana's kidneys.

However, the twins have become smart, active girls, said Dr. Kenneth Salyer, chairman and founder of the Dallas-based nonprofit World Craniofacial Foundation. Still, their long-term prognosis is uncertain.

"They're troupers and they may be with us a long time, God willing," Salyer said.

Physicians at Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital in Cleveland had hoped to separate the girls, but that surgery was deemed too dangerous and was called off in August 2007.

Still, Salyer, whose foundation brought the girls to Dallas when they were babies, had kept up hope that separation might still be possible.

But no longer.

"We have finally decided that it's in these girls' best interest that they remain like they are, and that's really hard for me to say because I've been optimistic about separation," Salyer said earlier this month.

He said attempts to find other medical centers to take the case were unsuccessful after the Ohio operation was called off.

In addition, other complications arose as the twins grew older. One girl's brain is growing into the other's, making surgery impossible.

Also, their brains' ability to recover from a separation surgery has diminished.

ASSOCIATED PRESS