RI's conjoined babies separated in Singapore
RI's conjoined babies separated in Singapore
Sebastian Tong, Reuters/Singapore
Doctors in Singapore have separated 15-month-old Indonesian twin
girls conjoined at the waist and hip, a member of the medical
team said on Saturday.
Angeli and Angge, who share three legs and whose intestines
are joined, were separated after eight hours of surgery in the
Gleneagles Hospital.
"They have been physically separated, but it does not mean
that they are out of danger," a member of the medical team told
Reuters.
She added that the operation, which began on Saturday morning,
was continuing as surgeons are reconstructing their abdomens.
"I am so relieved. I have hoped for them to be separated and
now it's come true. I looked into the operating room and I saw
the moment when they were separated and another team of doctors
came to stitch their wounds," Singapore state broadcaster Channel
NewsAsia quoted the girls' father Sobari as saying.
"I thank God because both my daughters are now separated, and
safe...I'm asking those of you watching on television to pray for
us," the girls' mother said.
The girls, born in rural poverty in Indonesia's province of
Medan, were sponsored by wealthy Indonesians after a local doctor
refused to operate on them. The twins arrived in Singapore in
February and have undergone a string of medical tests to assess
the risks involved in the operation.
Keith Goh, the neurosurgeon who led an operation on Iranian
twins in 2003, told Reuters the surgeons in this procedure would
have to create separate digestive systems for both girls.
Because of their limited ability to move, conjoined twins
often succumb to a host of medical problems, including blood
clots and pressure sores, said Goh, who was also involved in two
other operations on conjoined twins in Singapore.
State broadcaster Channel NewsAsia reported earlier this week
that the most complex part of the surgery would be to ensure the
proper functioning of their lower bodies after separation, as the
twins share one anus. Local media reports have said each girl
would end up with just one leg because the third leg lacks a
proper knee or hip joints.
Conjoined twins occur roughly once in every 50,000 births and
once in every 200,000 live births. Many of those born alive do
not live long. For twins who undergo surgery, one of them often
dies after the operation and the rate of survival beyond the age
of two is just 20 percent.
In 2003, Singapore's Raffles Hospital conducted an
unprecedented operation to separate Iranian adult twins, Ladan
and Laleh Bijani, who were joined at the head. Despite marathon
52-hour surgery, led by a team of 28 specialists and 100
assistants, the twins died.
Later in 2003, the hospital performed a successful operation
to separate South Korean twin baby girls joined at the spine.