A team of doctors will make history in The Bahamas today by performing a marathon surgery intended to separate conjoined twins.
But only one baby -- a female -- has a chance of survival as the parasitic twin never developed and is essentially a 'mass' attached to the baby girl, now 22 days old.
Doctors say the surgery has less than a 40 percent chance of success, but without the critical operation, the baby girl will die within the next few days.
The parasitic twin has no sex and no normal features.  It is attached to the baby's hips and spine.  But doctors do not yet know whether there is a complete fusion of the spine.
Neurosurgeon Dr. Magnus Ekedede will be performing the surgery, supported by a team of well experienced and qualified physicians, based both locally and abroad.
"It was a challenging delivery in itself," said Dr. Ekedede during an interview with The Nassau Guardian yesterday morning. "The bottom line is that it's supposed to be two babies joined together but only one developed to be a baby. The other is a parasite that feeds on the other baby."
Dr. Ekedede said the surgery could last up to 15 hours, but physicians really do not know exactly what they will face until they start the operation.
"This is the first of its kind in The Bahamas and it will probably be the most dramatic and most difficult surgery in neurosurgery ever performed here," he added.
Dr. Ekedede said surgeons are hoping the baby and the parasite do not share one spine.  If they do, he said the success rate would drop even lower.
Either way, he said it will be a "tremendous surgery".
"Everyone is nervous, trust me.  We haven't done this before.  However it becomes, whatever it becomes -- to God be the Glory," Dr. Ekedede said.  "But we are prepared. It has been discussed at length and we think we are ready.  Everybody is ready for this case."
Among those who will assist Dr. Ekedede are a specialist from the University of Miami Dr. Aldo Berti, a plastic surgeon, pediatric cardiologist, neonatologist, and a team of nurses.
"The mere fact that we are going to tackle this enormous problem is a success for us," Dr. Ekedede said.
He said the baby still has a chance to live a normal life following the surgery.
Dr. Ekedede said doctors were not completely caught off guard.
He said during a check-up of the mother during her pregnancy, doctors noticed the mass growing on the baby. However, he said no one was prepared for what they saw once the baby was delivered.
"I was expecting that something was wrong or something that would be impressive on sight, but nothing of this magnitude," he added.
Speaking at a press conference at Princess Margaret Hospital later in the day, neonatologist Dr. Carlos Thomas said this could very well be a parasitic twin or a teratoma, which is a tumor that sometimes develops with muscles, teeth and hair.  He said both are similar in nature and require similar procedures.
Dr. Thomas said once surgery is completed, doctors will be more clear as to what it is, or if it is a combination of both.
Meanwhile, the baby's parents said all they can do now is pray.
The mother, whose name is being withheld, is asking the nation to join them in prayer.
"I will pray all day for the baby, so that everything will be alright. I can't say what i'm going through. That's very hard for me and I'm asking everyone to pray that everything will be alright," she said.
The woman, 26, said in the days since she gave birth, her life has been turned upside down.
"For me it's very difficult because you know when you [give birth] to a baby like that it's very hard," she told The Nassau Guardian.
The baby's 29-year-old father said his only hope is that at the end of the surgery his baby girl will be okay.
Dr. Ekedede said the hospital chaplain will pray for the baby at 7:30 a.m. today.  The surgery is expected to start at 8 a.m.
The surgeon said he will also pray.
"I believe in the power of prayer," he said. "And after that I'm fine. I feel great; I'm ready to go," Dr. Ekedede said.
He is expected to give an update of the outcome of the surgery on Thursday.
The birth of conjoined twins is a rare occurrence around the world. The estimated birth ranges from one in 50,000 births to one in 100,000 births.

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