On 11 October, a 22‑year‑old mother from Kandhamal district gave birth to two heads sharing one torso at MKCG Medical College. The newborn, weighing 2.25 kg, was immediately taken to the Special Newborn Care Unit for intensive monitoring.
Dicephalic parapagus, in which twin heads coexist on a single body, occurs once in roughly 300,000 births. The pair had one heart, one liver, and a single pair of limbs, but suffered from severe respiratory distress within hours.
Sudeepa Dash, the college's superintendent, said the team "tried everything we could" before the twins died after a week. Manas Ranjan Dash, head of paediatric surgery, added that an attempted separation was aborted because the infant's heart could not support the procedure.
The parents, shocked, initially refused to accept the bodies. Only after Ganjam district administration intervened did they allow the funeral procession to return the remains to the village.
Hospital authorities announced an internal review of neonatal care protocols, and the state health ministry will convene a panel to assess rare birth defects management.