Girl born with two heads in the Philippines

(AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)

A baby girl was born in a Philippine government hospital Tuesday night with two heads and two hearts that are contained in one sac.

Dr. Ruben Flores, director of Fabella Memorial Hospital said, “This is a very rare case.  It’s new even to us,” referring to the child who is being called “Baby Girl Arciaga.”

This very rare condition is referred to as dicephaly monozygotic conjoined birth, and it occurs in one out of $80,000 live births.

Dr. Flores said if one heart fails, the other will be affected and it is impossible to separate the girls because they share one body and almost all of their organs.

Before “Baby Girl Arciaga” was born, ultrasound images showed her mother, Chaterian was only pregnant with one child.

The child’s father, Salvador Arciaga is appealing to the public for financial assistance for a computed tomography angiography that doctors say is necessary to get a clearer picture of the child’s physical features before they can decide on an operation to separate the conjoined twins.

The child is now under observation at the Philippine Heart Center.