Radhika and Dudika Neik: The tragic fate of conjoined twins who were unfortunately separated
Siamese twins are extremely rare - only one case per 200 thousand newborns. In some cases, they can be separated surgically, but there are exceptions - for example, as in the case of the Krivoshlyapov sisters, when surgery is impossible. The first attempts to separate twins began in the 17th century, but the result largely depends on the specific circumstances. For Radika and Dudika Neik, an operation in 1902 became the only hope for salvation, unfortunately, unsuccessful.
In 1888, Siamese twin girls were born in the Indian state of Orissa (now Odisha). They were joined at the abdomen, just like the famous Chang and Eng Bunker. As a rule, Hindus consider such children a gift from the gods, but this time everything turned out differently. The villagers turned against the special children and demanded their death or exile.
The girls' father was in despair and even wanted to separate them himself, but fortunately he was dissuaded. Salvation came from a local Hindu monastery. The priests, having heard about the problem, came to the babies' parents and offered to take them in for upbringing. The family had no choice but to accept this offer. As a result, the Siamese twins ended up in the monastery when they were only a few weeks old.
The priests named the girls Radika and Dudika. Until they were five, they lived among monks who treated them very well. In 1893, the state of Orissa was visited by the famous British showman Colman. He heard about the unusual children from the peasants and immediately went to the monastery. He managed to persuade the priests to sell him the sisters. Colman took Radika and Dudika to London, where he made them documents. The girls even got an English surname - Neik.
Contemporaries recalled that Colman did not offend the girls and treated them like daughters. They performed in his circus, which toured all over Europe, but it cannot be said that they did not have a childhood. Radika and Dudika had only a few performances a week, so they had time to rest, play and study.
Colman hired a governess from Scotland for the twins, who taught the girls good manners and school subjects. The adoptive father wanted the children to receive a good education and, when they grew up, to choose their own path in life. The girls learned English and French, knew mathematics and played musical instruments.
The sisters traveled all over Europe with the Coleman Circus, and were greeted with delight everywhere. The twins only had to appear on stage - the audience immediately exploded with applause. But the girls did not limit themselves to this. They performed full-fledged numbers: they danced Indian dances, played musical instruments and sang.
In 1902, when the girls were ten years old, disaster struck. Dudika was diagnosed with tuberculosis. Doctors told Coleman that the disease was incurable. But Radika still had a chance to be saved - if they could separate the sisters. The famous French surgeon Eugene-Louis Doyen took on the operation. He was considered one of the best specialists of his time, although he had not performed such operations before.
Doyen was a supporter of technical progress and filmed the operation. He called the film "La Separation de Doodica-Radica" ("The Separation of Doodica-Radica"). The operation was successful, and the sisters began to eat liquid food and recover. But Doodica's condition, which was ill with tuberculosis, suddenly worsened. Soon the girl died of peritonitis.
It seemed that Radika had an excellent chance for a long and happy life. But no one took into account that due to the common circulatory system, the tuberculosis bacillus got into her body. Soon, the girl, weakened after the operation, developed symptoms of a dangerous disease. Doctors fought for her life for 16 months, and her adoptive father did not spare money for the best medicines. But despite this, Radika died in a Paris tuberculosis sanatorium in 1903, outliving her sister by only 16 months.
The story of Radika and Dudika Neik is a tragic example of how medicine and society in the past faced ethical and scientific challenges. Today, technology has advanced greatly, and operations to separate conjoined twins have become much more successful. But philosophical questions remain: is it always worth trying to separate such children if the operation carries enormous risks?