Craniopagus: a proposed nursing care protocol
Intended for healthcare professionals
Evidence and practice    

Craniopagus: a proposed nursing care protocol

Ilaria Pannacci Nurse, operating room and intensive care unit, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, Rome, Italy
Camilla de Laurentis Doctor, medicine and health department, Milano-Bicocca University, Milan, and neurosurgery unit, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, Rome, Italy
Paola Cristaldi Doctor, neurosurgery unit, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, Rome, Italy
Tommaso Renzetti Nurse, neurosurgery unit, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, Rome, Italy
Riccarda Armani Nurse, operating room and intensive care unit, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, Rome, Italy
Luca Pianura Nurse, department of intensive and robotic neurorehabilitation, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, Rome, Italy
Veronica Recchiuti Physical therapist, department of intensive and robotic neurorehabilitation, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, Rome, Italy
Adelina Carlesi Physical therapist, department of intensive and robotic neurorehabilitation, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, Rome, Italy
Francesca Santato Psychologist, clinical psychology unit, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, Rome, Italy
Marina Franci Nurse, intensive care unit, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, Rome, Italy
Laura Serafini Nurse, operating room, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, Rome, Italy
Barbara Latini Nurse, department of intensive and robotic neurorehabilitation, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, Rome, Italy
Carlo Efisio Marras Doctor, neurosurgery unit, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, Rome, Italy

Why you should read this article:
  • To increase your awareness of craniopagus, a rare condition in which identical twins are joined at the head

  • To identify the multidisciplinary skills and expertise required for successful separation of craniopagus twins

  • To explore the pivotal role of nurses in the management and care of craniopagus twins in hospital

Craniopagus is a rare condition in which the skulls of conjoined twins, and the neurovascular structures in their skulls, are incompletely separated. Separation surgery is complex and requires a range of skills and expertise, including from all the nursing teams involved. A multidisciplinary group of professionals in a tertiary paediatric care setting in Italy developed a comprehensive protocol for the nursing care of craniopagus twins in hospital, informed by the findings of a literature review and the expertise of its members. The protocol was applied to the management of a pair of craniopagus twins who successfully underwent separation surgery at the authors’ hospital. The protocol describes the crucial role of nurses in the care of craniopagus twins and their families before, during and after separation surgery.

Nursing Children and Young People. doi: 10.7748/ncyp.2023.e1485

Peer review

This article has been subject to open peer review and checked for plagiarism using automated software

Correspondence

camilla.delaur@gmail.com

Conflict of interest

None declared

Pannacci I, de Laurentis C, Cristaldi PM et al (2023) Craniopagus: a proposed nursing care protocol. Nursing Children and Young People. doi: 10.7748/ncyp.2023.e1485

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the mother of the twins, Hermine Zotto Bangalo, for allowing us to include details of the twins’ care and pictures of the twins in this article; the cultural-linguistic mediator for the twins, Nina Nadine Petula Bissakonou; Lucia Celesti, head of public relations and family services unit, and Massimiliano Raponi, medical director at Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, for their support during the development of the nursing care protocol; and Alessandro Longoni for support in digital art creation

Published online: 16 October 2023

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