Mother prays for conjoined daughters as chances slim
Dewi Santoso, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Neng Harmani cannot stop praying that the operation to separate her two-week-old conjoined twin daughters will be successful.
"I don't know what will happen to my daughters, but I hope that doctors can separate them safely," said the 37-year-old mother.
Born on Feb. 11 at the Gita Insani Hospital in Pematang Siantar, North Sumatra, by caesarean section, the twins -- Angie and Angeli -- are joined from the waist down. They each have one leg and share a third.
With their parents, Neng and Subari, the twins were flown to Jakarta last Tuesday for surgery, leaving their seven-year-old sister at home in Kampung Baru Aman C, Sebelawan district, Simalungun, North Sumatra.
The twins are being cared for by a team of 25 doctors of the state-run Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital (RSCM) on Jl. Diponegoro, Central Jakarta.
Head of the team, Arwin P. Akib, revealed on Thursday that a preliminary examination showed that the delicate surgery would be more difficult than expected. Although the twins have one heart each, the heart of one of the girls is located on the right side of her body.
He added that medical records from the Adam Malik Hospital in the North Sumatra capital of Medan, where the twins had been treated earlier, had not clearly indicated this condition.
"Thus, we'll have to do a more thorough examination on the twins."
He said that the baby girls had one kidney each and separate digestive systems but it was feared that they shared a bowel.
"These factors have caused us some concern. We will not rush to operate but will carefully examine the babies and perform surgery at the right time," he said, adding that the hospital would bear all the expenses.
Angie and Angelie are the 14th case of conjoined twins recorded in Indonesia since 1965. The first case recorded was in Surabaya in 1978.
Neng said that she had not felt any different during her previous pregnancy than when she was carrying the twins.
"Everything was the same, although in the seventh month. I was just a little more worn out than last time."
An ultrasound conducted in Neng's ninth month of pregnancy had revealed that she was carrying twins. But she had not known that they were conjoined.
Neng and her babies were discharged from hospital soon after the birth as the family could not afford further treatment. However, the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation for Health (LBH Kesehatan) stepped in and the twins were taken to the Adam Malik Hospital.
After four days of intensive care there, doctors decided to transfer the girls to RSCM, as the hospital has more experience in performing separation surgery on conjoined twins.
Neng and Subari said they did not expect much.
"I just hope that doctors will separate my daughters soon. If they cannot save them both, then I pray that at least one of them will survive," said Neng.
History of conjoined twins in Indonesia
Year Name Conjoined Status
1978 Minarsih no information available (nia) nia
1979 Unknown nia nia
1987 Pristian Yuliani & Pristian Yuliana head successfully separated & alive
1987 n/a stomach successfully separated
1989 Fransiska & Theresia anal nia
1996 Aghnia Norma Hafisah & Aghnia Norma Nafisah stomach successfully separated & alive
1997 Rena & Reni heart successfully separated & alive
1998 Anandya Yoris Safadia & Anindya Yoris Safadia chest & stomach successfully separated & alive
2002 Perina Nurfarida & Perani Nuraida stomach Perina Nurfarida died
2003 Abdurachman & Abdurachim stomach unseparated as condition worsened, no news on progress available
2004 Angie & Angeli stomach not yet separated
Source: media reports
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Angie's and Angelie's current condition:
- conjoined at the stomach
- have three legs, with one at the center of their bodies
- each baby has only one kidney
- one baby has its heart on the left side; the other's is on the right side
- although they have separate digestive systems, it is suspected they have only one rectum between them
Source: RSCM