Brothers born 1minute apart, but blood flow to one twin in womb stunts other's growth
LOOKING at these two babies, you would probably think that they were born several months apart.
Premature twins Byron Ryman (far left, at 1.5kg) and Lincoln Ryman (530g). -- Picture: REX/STARPIX
But you'd be wrong.
They are in fact identical twins, born just one minute apart.
Byron and Lincoln Ryman astounded doctors when they were delivered on 15 Mar at the Royal Hospital for Women in Randwick, Sydney.
Byron was born three times heavier than his younger brother.
Both were born 11 weeks premature, and doctors initially gave them a slim chance of surviving.
But months later, neonatalist Parag Mishra, who is looking after the twins, said that they are thriving, reported the Daily Telegraph.
Byron has put on more than 1kg, while Lincoln has gained about 300g.
The fact that they are still alive has delighted Dr Mishra, who initially told their mother, Nicole, to prepare for the worst when he was forced to induce labour at just 29 weeks into her pregnancy.
'Nicole was 15 weeks along when (medical staff) detected twin-to-twin transfusion, a type of problem that occurs sometimes with twin babies, whereby blood flows from one twin to another,' Dr Mishra said.
The condition is believed to have stunted Lincoln's growth.
At 29 weeks, doctors discovered that the growth of the larger twin, Byron, had stopped.
They decided that they would induce their birth, hoping that he, at least, might survive. There was little hope for his struggling brother, who was given less than 30 per cent chance of survival.
But the prognosis changed drastically soon after the birth, with both brothers showing an 'exceptional will to live', said Dr Mishra.
BREATHING PROBLEMS
'Lincoln initially had a lot of breathing problems and then he had heart problems, so an operation was carried out when he was still about 600g.
'But Byron also needed a little bit of help with his breathing before he began to gain proper weight and now he is doing well.
'We're now watching both boys carefully, particularly little Lincoln, but we hope that he'll soon start gaining weight much more quickly and get nearer and nearer his brother.'
And the twin's parents, Mrs Ryman, 31, and her husband, Todd, 32, who conceived through in-vitro fertilisation, couldn't be happier.
Said Mrs Ryman: 'It has been a really up-and-down experience for us but now, we're on top of the world because we didn't think we were going to have both of them.'
taken :
http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/news/st...38019,00.html? 
No kidding... They're twins 
