Reflections on the birth of conjoined twins

Abstract

How refreshing it was to read Ken Walker's article. 1 He has the courage to speak out on a subject from which most of us shy away. The major concern of physicians since the time of Hippocrates has been to help prevent pain and suffering; the concept of saving lives at all costs is a modern aberration. In the time of Hippocrates, deformed or malformed babies were put out on the hillside to perish. Of course such a practice would be abhorrent today, but one has to reflect on the enormous cost to our current system of performing heroic procedures on patients whose viability is doubtful.