by Twins With Rare ᴄᴏɴᴅɪᴛɪᴏɴ Defy FIVE Per Cent sᴜʀᴠɪᴠᴀʟ ᴏᴅᴅs After Having Life-Saving sᴜʀɢᴇʀʏ In The Womb
Tots Isla and Jemima Rean, now one-year-old, were given just a five per cent chance of survival after being ᴅɪᴀɢɴᴏsᴇᴅ with rare Twin to Twin ᴛʀᴀɴsFᴜsɪᴏɴ sʏɴᴅʀᴏᴍᴇ.
Twins Isla and Jemima Rean are snapped with mum Tabitha — after being saved by sᴜʀɢᴇʀʏ while in her womb. The tots, now one, were given just a five per cent chance of sᴜʀᴠɪᴠᴀʟ after being ᴅɪᴀɢɴᴏsᴇᴅ with rare Twin to Twin ᴛʀᴀɴsFᴜsɪᴏɴ sʏɴᴅʀᴏᴍᴇ.
ɴᴇᴜʀᴏʟᴏɢɪᴄᴀʟ ᴅᴀᴍᴀɢᴇ. It meant they shared the same placenta, affecting the ʙʟᴏᴏᴅ they each received. Tabitha was 18 weeks pregnant when she had the pioneering op in Birmingham Women’s Hospital and needed weekly scans afterwards.
The illustrator, 26, from Evesham, Worcs, said: “It was as if the world would stand still until I’d hear them confirm two ʜᴇᴀʀᴛ ʙᴇᴀᴛs. As well as being scanned weekly, I had a 90 minute long MRI scan to check if the girls had any ɴᴇᴜʀᴏʟᴏɢɪᴄᴀʟ ᴅᴀᴍᴀɢᴇ – it took so long because they were both wriggling around so much that the ʀᴀᴅɪᴏɢʀᴀᴘʜᴇʀs sᴛʀᴜɢɢʟᴇᴅ to get a still picture!”
Now, 14 months on, the whole family is settling in well but now want to thank those who helped bring Isla and Jemima. Tabitha gave birth at 29 weeks and it was six weeks before the girls were allowed home. Husband Ben, 27, is now fundraising for charity TAMBA and has a JustGiving page under his name
Twin-twin ᴛʀᴀɴsFᴜsɪᴏɴ sʏɴᴅʀᴏᴍᴇ (TTTS) is a rare, serious ᴄᴏɴᴅɪᴛɪᴏɴ that can occur in pregnancies. This happens when identical twins share a placenta. Abnormal ʙʟᴏᴏᴅ ᴠᴇssᴇʟ ᴄᴏɴɴᴇᴄᴛɪᴏɴs form in the placenta. They allow ʙʟᴏᴏᴅ to flow unevenly between the fetuses. One twin − called the ᴅᴏɴᴏʀ – ʙᴇᴄᴏᴍᴇs ᴅᴇʜʏᴅʀᴀᴛᴇᴅ. The other twin − called the recipient − develops high ʙʟᴏᴏᴅ pressure. The recipient produces too much ʙʟᴏᴏᴅᴜʀɪɴᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ᴏᴠᴇʀ Fɪʟʟs ᴛʜᴇ ᴀᴍɴɪᴏᴛɪᴄ sᴀᴄ.
TTTS is a ᴅɪsᴇᴀsᴇ of the placenta. It affects each twin differently. The donor twin does not produce as much urine as it should. This causes a low amount of ᴀᴍɴɪᴏᴛɪᴄ Fʟᴜɪᴅ and poor fetal growth. The recipient twin has more urine than usual. This leads to an enlarged bladder and too much ᴀᴍɴɪᴏᴛɪᴄ Fʟᴜɪᴅ. The extra Fʟᴜɪᴅ in the recipient fetus can put a strain on the heart. This can lead to ʜᴇᴀʀᴛ Fᴀɪʟᴜʀᴇ. There is no known cause of TTTS.
Without ᴛʀᴇᴀᴛᴍᴇɴᴛ, this ᴄᴏɴᴅɪᴛɪᴏɴ can be fatal for one or both twins. Fetal sᴜʀɢᴇʀʏ is sometimes needed to treat the ᴄᴏɴᴅɪᴛɪᴏɴ. The prognosis is better when TTTS develops after 20 weeks’ gestation. Getting a diagnosis of twin-twin ᴛʀᴀɴsFᴜsɪᴏɴ sʏɴᴅʀᴏᴍᴇ is an emotional experience. Sometimes decisions about ᴛʀᴇᴀᴛᴍᴇɴᴛ must be made quickly. At the Cincinnati Children’s Fetal Care Center, we are here to help.
