Twin-to-Twin transfusion

Byron and Lincoln Ryman were born within a minute of each other, first Byron (3lb 6oz) was precisely three times bigger than his brother.

Eleven weeks premature, both boys were given a little chance of survival - particularly Lincoln, weighing only 1lb 2oz at birth.

But yesterday this twins, now they are five weeks old, are doing well, thanks to the dedicated staff at the Royal Hospital for Women in Sydney.

This is called twin-to-twin transfusion, where one of the blood flow of one of the babies goes from the smaller to the larger twin.

“Lincoln’s chances of survival, I considered, were less than 30 per cent because he was so small.”

But after their birth, both brothers showed an “exceptional will to live,” said Dr Mishra.

“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 (1lb 5oz).

“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,” said Dr. Mishra.

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