Parents' agony over conjoined twins

The twins share one heart and one liver

LONDON, England -- The surgeon who led the team that delivered conjoined twins has told of the parents' heartache when they learned that one of the babies must die for the other to survive.

Professor Nicholas Fisk told a press conference on Tuesday that it was a "very traumatic" and "emotional" time for the parents of baby girls Natasha and Courtney Smith.

The twins were born at the Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital in London on Monday.

The babies share one heart and one liver and could only survive for a matter of months unless they were separated because the heart is deformed and cannot support them both, Fisk said.

As the heart is more in Natasha's body than Courtney's, Natasha is the twin that has been chosen to survive.

Dr. Helena Gardiner, a perinatal cardiologist, said: "It's a complicated heart and perhaps more complicated than we understand at the moment.

"There are some parts of the circulation we need to investigate further before the surgery can take place."

Fisk said the parents, Tina May and Dennis Smith from St. Albans, north of London, had been prepared in advance that one of their babies may have to die.

He said: "This was a possibility they have been entertaining for months. It's a very traumatic time for them.

"Seeing the babies for the first time was quite an emotional moment.

"Until yesterday they have only seen them on the ultrasound screen, and there was something special about looking at them joined at the chest."

Prof Fisk lead the team that delivered the conjoined girls

The twins have been taken to the Great Ormond Street Hospital, where it is expected the separation will take place.

Fisk said both girls -- who were born at 10.47 a.m. on Monday (0947 GMT) weighing 4.42 kg (9 pounds 12 ounces) -- were "stable" and the mother was "doing well." The twins were delivered by Caesarean section.

"When I saw them for the first time they looked so beautiful that I melted with love for them," their mother told The Sun newspaper.

"But my happiness is tinged with the agony of knowing the ordeal that lies ahead for us all."

In a similar case last year, British judges ruled that an operation should go ahead to separate conjoined twins Gracie and Rosie Attard from the tiny Mediterranean island of Gozo, after their mother came to the UK for treatment.

Gracie and Rosie's parents had opposed surgery because it was known that Rosie would die. The surviving twin, Gracie, is now expected to lead a normal life.