Conjoined Twin Dies During Surgery to Separate Him from Brother, Who Died Shortly After Their Birth

Marcos and Matheus, conjoined twins born in Brazil, have died — with one brother passing away just hours after the other.

The babies were delivered connected at the hip at a hospital in Brazil on Jan. 6, according to a news release from the Goiás State Government. About 24 hours later, they underwent colostomy and vesicostomy surgery.

A colostomy is a procedure that creates an opening so stool and gas can leave the body, while a vesicostomy is a similar operation that allows urine to drain. Pediatric surgeon Zacharias Calil performed the procedures, which initially went well, and the newborns remained in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), the release said.

Soon afterward, however, the twins developed complications.

In a social media statement, Calil said that in the early hours of Jan. 8, one of the babies suffered repeated cardiorespiratory arrests and died.

Given the severity of the situation, Calil said the medical team performed emergency surgery to separate the brothers in an attempt to save the second newborn. The separation was technically successful, he said, but despite continued efforts by the medical and neonatology teams, the second baby also did not survive.

Calil added that he sympathized with the family during “a moment of immense pain” and reaffirmed his commitment to ethical, responsible, and humane medical care.

In a follow-up Instagram post, Calil was shown speaking with the media about the tragedy. In his caption, he described the case as one of the most challenging situations in medicine, adding that moments like this reinforce a doctor’s duty to keep fighting with skill, responsibility, and humanity.

Marcos and Matheus were born to Raylane Siqueira de Oliveira and Maycon Alex Rodrigues Araújo, according to the Goiás State Government. The government said Siqueira de Oliveira was 34 weeks pregnant when she delivered the twins.

The babies were classified as ischiopagus — a rare type of twinning in which infants are born connected at the hip and may share anatomical structures, requiring intensive care from birth, the Goiás State Government said.