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But one twin's diagnosis with acrania — a rare, fatal congenital disorder characterized by the full or partial absence of cranial bones — sent Brandt's world into a grief-stricken tailspin.

Following the surgery, Mr Coles, who was 66, was unable to swallow due to cranial nerve damage.

The reason: Wearing the devices just occasionally tricks your brain into thinking you don’t need them, and that’ll confuse the prized three-pound master cranial organ a top your spinal cord.

For those who do survive, he added, 50 percent of them are left with long-term physical or mental impairments, running the gambit from intellectual disability, seizures, paralysis and cranial nerve dysfunction.

These include cancers of the lymph nodes, bones, blood vessels or mast cell tumors for some breeds; and joint disorders such as hip or elbow dysplasia, or cranial cruciate ligament tears.