04/25/2026
Case of the week! 🤯
Not your everyday calving. Last week we delivered a rare diprosopus calf (fewer than 1 in 100,000 births) via C-section — a rare birth defect causing duplication of facial structures -these two faces shared one body.
This calf had four eyes, one cranium, two ears, and a single functional windpipe and esophagus. The calf was alive at birth but the second muzzle was not connected to the respiratory or digestive system, making survival impossible and he was therefore humanely euthanised.
Cases like this are fascinating, and a reminder of the complexity of development!
The extra jaw of the calf had punctured through the uterus near the cervix, as the cow had tried her best to deliver it, so we completed a hysterectomy due to substantial bleeding. She is alive and well but unfortunately her breeding days are over.
Kudos to this rancher for qu**ky recognising something was wrong (he suspected some kind of tangled twins) but this was truly unexpected! 🐄� ConjoinedTwins
