The examinations, X-rays and dry runs using a 3D model of her tiny spine all came down to this: A team of surgeons made a careful incision and, over the next six hours, systematically removed an extra pelvis, legs, feet and tiny toes that were protruding from her neck and back.Since birth, baby Dominique had been carrying her parasitic twin.“It’s as if the parasitic twin dove into Dominique’s body and almost made it in except for the waist out,” said John Ruge, director of pediatric neurosurgery at Advocate Children’s Hospital near Chicago.Doctors say parasitic twins — asymmetric conjoined twins in which one depends on the other’s bodily functions — are extremely rare. Even more uncommon are parasitic rachipagus twins, twins connected at the spine.Ruge said fewer than 30 cases are documented in medical literature — so few, in fact, that they are often referenced using the patients’ names.“This one would be ‘Dominique from Chicago,’ ” Ruge said.Ten-month-old Dominique, whose last name has not been released, travelled more than 8,000 kilometres in February from Ivory Coast in West Africa to Chicago to undergo an operation at Advocate Children’s Hospital to remove her parasitic twin. Her doctors said the surgery was necessary because without it, her heart and lungs would struggle to support the extra limbs and the strain would ultimately shorten her life.It would take an army of volunteers to make it all happen.Children’s Medical Mission West, an Ohio-based nonprofit, arranged Dominique’s trip to the United States, according to Advocate Children’s Hospital. Flight attendants accompanied her from Ivory Coast.On Feb. 5, a host family in Chicago was waiting to care for her during her stay.“Dominique flew halfway across the world with just a small bag that contained a few pairs of pajamas, diapers, a bottle and powder formula called Nursi ...
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