Dr. Ben Carson turned 75 on Friday, September 18, capping a career that spans pioneering neurosurgery, a presidential campaign, a cabinet post, and now advocacy work through the institute he founded.
Carson first drew international attention on September 6, 1987, when he led a 70-person surgical team at Johns Hopkins Hospital through a 22-hour operation separating 7-month-old West German twins Patrick and Benjamin Binder, who were joined at the back of the head. As director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins, Carson used a technique that lowered the twins’ body temperature to 68 degrees to halt their hearts and bloodflow during the procedure.
The twins were listed as critical but stable afterward, with doctors giving them a 50-50 chance of survival, according to a 1987 United Press International report. Mark Rogers, then director of pediatric intensive care at Johns Hopkins, said at the time, “We will prefer to say that the operation was a success if the twins can return home healthy.”
The boys eventually returned home to Germany, but both suffered neurological complications. Patrick died years later, and Benjamin never learned to speak. Carson reflected on the outcome in a 1989 interview with the Associated Press: “In a technological ‘Star Wars’ sort of way, the operation was a fantastic success. But as far as having normal children, I don’t think it was all that successful.”
Carson went on to take part in four more craniopagus separations, including a procedure on conjoined Zambian twins who left the hospital without neurological issues. He later wrote about the Binder twins’ surgery in two chapters of his memoir, “Gifted Hands.”
A Rare Procedure Advances
Craniopagus separation remains among the rarest operations in pediatric medicine — only 62 attempts have ever been documented worldwide. The field Carson helped establish has continued to progress since his 1987 breakthrough.
In 2019, twins Abby and Erin Delaney underwent a successful separation and, seven years on, continue to show progress. In 2023, a surgical team from the United Kingdom and Brazil convened in Abu Dhabi and used artificial intelligence alongside traditional surgical methods to separate conjoined twin girls Goodness and Mercy, who have undergone additional surgeries in the years since and are reported to be doing well.
Most recently, twins Hiyab and Wuhbto traveled from Nigeria to SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri. After roughly a year of preparation, pediatric neurosurgeons performed a 24-hour separation surgery in February 2026. Six months later, one twin has completed skull reconstruction surgery, with her sister’s procedure scheduled for later this fall.
Beyond the Operating Room
Carson’s public life extended well past medicine. He ran for president, served as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under President Donald Trump’s first administration, and now works as a special advisor to the current Trump administration. He also founded and chairs the American Cornerstone Institute.
At the Rededicate 250 celebration on the National Mall marking the nation’s founding, Carson spoke about what sets the country apart. “My wife and I have been to 68 countries, and I can tell you there is no place like America, and we need to make sure it stays that way,” he said. “But remember our improbable rebellion against the most powerful military force on Earth, or the forging of our Constitution. Look at our prosperity, our technological innovation; our culture of freedom; our triumphs over slavery, totalitarianism, segregation, hunger, and disease; even over the surly bonds of Earth. We’re the only nation defined by a dream.”
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