Some of the earliest depictions of the rare occurrence of conjoined twins date back to as early as 300 A.D., on ceramic items created by the Moche culture of ancient Peru. In 415 A.D., St. Augustine of Hippo, in his book, City of God, refers to a man who is “double in his upper, but single in his lower half – having two chests, four hands, but one body and two feet like an ordinary man.” Arguably the most famous conjoined twins were Chang and Eng Bunker (1811-1874), who were born in Siam joined at the torso. In 1829, the Bunker brothers traveled to the United States, where they made their living appearing in public due to their sensational appearance. They married two sisters and had 22 children between them. Following the brothers’ worldwide fame, twins born with the same condition were commonly referred to as “Siamese twins”, although “conjoined twins” is the more accepted scientific reference. Among other notable conjoined twins were Rosa and Josepha Blazek (1877-1922), born in Bohemia (now known as the Czech Republic). Because the condition is so rare, even today, most cases of conjoined birth receive at least some public attention, although the public is now more likely to be aware of the twins because of media coverage of their separation procedures than simply because of their startling physical appearance.

One of the earliest known separation attempts of conjoined twins took place in Germany in 1495. The first successful separation was thought to be in 1689 by surgeon Johannes Fatio, who use a constricting band to prepare the twins for eventual separation. Dr. Voris completed the first successful separation of craniopagus (joined at the head) twins.