Patrick and Benjamin Binder (born 2 February 1987) were conjoined twins, joined at the head, born in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

in February 1987, and separated at Johns Hopkins Children's Center on 6 September 1987. They were the first twins to be successfully separated by Ben Carson, a neurosurgeon assisted by Donlin M. Long of

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. For this operation, the surgeons could prepare by studying a three-dimensional physical model of the twins' anatomy. Carson described this separation as the first of its kind, with 23 similar attempted separations ending in the death of one or both twins. Although the surgeons were able to separate the boys, both were left profoundly disabled. According to a 2015 ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' article, Patrick remained completely mute; he "had a setback in the Baltimore hospital when he choked on a piece of food, going without oxygen for a short time" and later died "sometime in the last decade". Benjamin recovered to a certain extent. ''The Washington Post'' reported that Peter Parlagi, the twins' uncle, said their father was emotionally unable ever to handle them or share in their care. He said the twins' father became an alcoholic, spent all the couple's funds and left their mother destitute and alone. She was forced to institutionalize them. In a 1993 interview, their mother, Theresia Binder, described guilt for agreeing to the operation that ruined the boys' prospect of ever having any quality of life. According to ''The Washington Posts 2015 interview with Parlagi, Benjamin never learned to speak or feed himself, but he does enjoy visitors, and being taken for walks.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Binder, Patrick and Benjamin 1987 births Ben Carson Living people Binder, Benjamin German twins