{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,14]],"date-time":"2026-08-14T09:26:31Z","timestamp":1786699591938,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":8,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"16","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,14]],"date-time":"2026-08-14T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1786665600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Diagnostics"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Thoracopagus conjoined twins are the most common type of conjoined twinning and are frequently associated with shared cardiac anatomy, the principal determinant of prognosis and postnatal survival. Early prenatal diagnosis is essential for accurate counseling and timely pregnancy management. We report the diagnosis of thoracopagus conjoined twins with a shared cardiac structure in a 35-year-old primigravid woman at 8 weeks and 3 days of gestation. High-resolution transvaginal ultrasound demonstrated persistent thoracic fusion, fixed relative fetal position, a single yolk sac, a single umbilical cord, and absence of an intertwin membrane. Color Doppler confirmed a single sonographically detectable cardiac complex, while three-dimensional ultrasound enhanced spatial visualization and facilitated parental counseling. Differential diagnoses, including monochorionic twins with close apposition, TRAP sequence, body stalk anomaly, and other forms of conjoined twinning, were systematically excluded. Early first-trimester recognition of thoracopagus conjoined twins with shared cardiac anatomy is feasible using dynamic ultrasound and Doppler imaging. Establishing the diagnosis before the end of the first trimester enables accurate prognostic assessment, timely multidisciplinary counseling, and informed parental decision-making for this condition associated with an extremely poor prognosis.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/diagnostics16162562","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,14]],"date-time":"2026-08-14T08:08:29Z","timestamp":1786694909000},"page":"2562","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Early First-Trimester Diagnosis of Thoracopagus Conjoined Twins with a Shared Cardiac Structure"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3755-320X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Adelina","family":"Staicu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"1st Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, \u201cIuliu Ha\u0163ieganu\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy Cluj-Napoca, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7224-9778","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Camelia","family":"Albu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre of Advanced Research Studies, Emergency County Hospital \u201cIMOGEN\u201d, 400006 Cluj-Napoca, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Roxana","family":"Constantin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"1st Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, \u201cIuliu Ha\u0163ieganu\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy Cluj-Napoca, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Iulian Gabriel","family":"Goidescu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"1st Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, \u201cIuliu Ha\u0163ieganu\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy Cluj-Napoca, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mihai","family":"Surcel","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"1st Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, \u201cIuliu Ha\u0163ieganu\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy Cluj-Napoca, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6832-9898","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Dan","family":"Boitor-Borza","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"1st Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, \u201cIuliu Ha\u0163ieganu\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy Cluj-Napoca, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Andreea","family":"Florian","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"1st Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, \u201cIuliu Ha\u0163ieganu\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy Cluj-Napoca, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Georgiana Irina","family":"Nemeti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"1st Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, \u201cIuliu Ha\u0163ieganu\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy Cluj-Napoca, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8162-4103","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Gheorghe","family":"Cruciat","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"1st Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, \u201cIuliu Ha\u0163ieganu\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy Cluj-Napoca, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7744-0501","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Daniel","family":"Muresan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"1st Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, \u201cIuliu Ha\u0163ieganu\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy Cluj-Napoca, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7700-2384","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ioana Cristina","family":"Rotar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"1st Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, \u201cIuliu Ha\u0163ieganu\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy Cluj-Napoca, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,14]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"259","DOI":"10.15557\/JoU.2017.0038","article-title":"Conjoined twins\u2013role of imaging and recent advances","volume":"17","author":"Mathew","year":"2017","journal-title":"J. Ultrason."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"743","DOI":"10.1097\/OGX.0000000000000000","article-title":"Diagnostic Techniques and Criteria for First-Trimester Conjoined Twin Documentation: A Review of the Literature Illustrated by Three Recent Cases","volume":"68","author":"Baken","year":"2013","journal-title":"Obstet. Gynecol. Surv."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Nicol\u00ec, P., Damiani, G.R., Gaetani, M., Dellino, M., Vitagliano, A., Malvasi, A., Cazzato, G., Cascardi, E., Marzullo, A., and Alfonso, R. (2023). \u201cThe Strange Case of Dr Pump and Mr Acardiac\u201d: The Twin Reversed Arterial Perfusion (TRAP) Sequence in Two Monochorionic Monoamniotic (MCMA) Twin Pregnancies-Diagnosis, Prognosis and Management: Review of Literature. Diagnostics, 13.","DOI":"10.3390\/diagnostics13193109"},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"245","DOI":"10.11152\/mu-3063","article-title":"First trimester sonographic diagnosis of limb-body wall defect associating both cephalic and thoraco-abdominal defects\u2014A case report and literature update","volume":"24","author":"Staicu","year":"2022","journal-title":"Med. Ultrason."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"157","DOI":"10.4103\/ajps.ajps_77_22","article-title":"Conjoined Thoracopagus Twins: A Systematic Review of the Anomalies and Outcome of Surgical Separation","volume":"20","author":"Saxena","year":"2023","journal-title":"Afr. J. Paediatr. Surg."},{"key":"ref_6","first-page":"e29526","article-title":"A Detailed Description and Discussion on Conjoined Twins","volume":"14","author":"Bindlish","year":"2022","journal-title":"Cureus"},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"371","DOI":"10.6061\/clinics\/2013(03)OA14","article-title":"Conjoined twins\u2013twenty years\u2019 experience at a reference center in Brazil","volume":"68","author":"Tannuri","year":"2013","journal-title":"Clinics"},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"699","DOI":"10.1002\/uog.20249","article-title":"Monochorionic diamniotic conjoined twins: Prenatal sonographic diagnosis at 8\u2009weeks","volume":"54","author":"Shah","year":"2019","journal-title":"Ultrasound Obstet. Gynecol."}],"container-title":["Diagnostics"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2075-4418\/16\/16\/2562\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,14]],"date-time":"2026-08-14T08:26:29Z","timestamp":1786695989000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2075-4418\/16\/16\/2562"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,14]]},"references-count":8,"journal-issue":{"issue":"16","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8]]}},"alternative-id":["diagnostics16162562"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/diagnostics16162562","relation":{},"ISSN":["2075-4418"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2075-4418","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,14]]}}}