An Indiana, Pennsylvania couple makes the tough decision to keep their newborns together
When a couple learned that their baby boys, Andrew Donovan Lee and Garrett Lee Donovan Stancombe, may not survive as conjoined twins or surgically separated, they made the difficult decision to keep the babies together. “They were born together; they can stay together,” the twins’ mother, Michelle Van Horne told CNN affiliate WTAE.
Michelle Van Horne and Kody Stancombe gave birth to the twin boys on April 10th who are connected from the breastbone to the waist; they share a heart and a liver. The overall survival rate of conjoined twins ranges from 5% to 25%. About 75% of surgical separations result in at least one twin surviving. Doctors have become better at separating twins who share organs but sharing a heart makes the procedure extremely risky.
The twin boys are said to be doing well, breathing on their own and are doing all things healthy babies do.