Various methods for evaluating a divided heart in adopted twins

Conjoined twins are a rare congenital anomalywith an estimated incidence of 1/50,000 to 1/100,000. Among thoracopagus conjoined twins, 75% have a fusedheart. We compare the usefulness of various modalities forevaluating cardiovascular structure in fused-heart conjoinedtwins. We report a series of 20 sets of thoracopagusconjoinedtwins as well as the results of a PubMed database literature review literature from 1982 to 2009. Twenty setsof fused-heart thoracopagus conjoined twins were evaluatedby echocardiography, cardiac catheterization, magneticresonance image (MRI), and three- dimensional computed tomography angiography (3D-CTA). Imaging results were compared to findings at surgery or autopsy.