Skip to main content Leah Berenson Science & Technology Journalist
Surgeons Separate Conjoined Twins for Free Because Parents Couldn’t Pay
Alright, let’s cut to the chase: nobody’s got the full scoop on why conjoined twins happen. It’s one of those medical mysteries, right? And because these cases are so flipping rare, health experts aren’t exactly swimming in data to figure it out. The Mayo Clinic throws out a couple of wild theories, though. One idea? Maybe two separate embryos kinda just… fuse together early on. The other? The embryo starts to split – usually between day 13 and 15 after conception – but then just stops halfway, leaving you with twins stuck together. Talk about a cliffhanger in development! ( 1 )

But hey, forget the textbooks for a second. When you’re staring at a real-deal set of <a href=”https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/conjoined-twins/symptoms-causes/syc-