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Ten-month-old conjoined Bangladeshi twins fixed together at the spine and rectum are finally separated following 'groundbreaking' operation
- Tofa and Tahura were fixed together at the spine and rectum before surgery
- Two dozen surgeons were involved in the delicate procedure to seperate them
- It's the first time this operation has been successfully performed in Bangladesh
A pair of conjoined Bangladeshi twins have been separated in a 'groundbreaking' operation, it has emerged.
Tofa and Tahura, ten-month-old sisters, were fixed together at the spine and rectum before the procedure at Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
Two dozen surgeons were involved in the delicate procedure – which is believed to be the first time conjoined twins have been successfully separated in the country.
The twins are in need of two more operations to restructure their internal organs, local reports state.
Despite it being '100 per cent successful', the twins will remain in intensive care for a matter of weeks to ensure they don't catch any deadly infections.
Paediatric surgeon Dr Abdul Hanif said the twins were in a stable condition after the delicate nine-hour procedure.
The first ever operation of its kind in Bangladesh
He told AFP: 'It is the first time we have successfully separated conjoined twins in Bangladesh.
'It's a groundbreaking operation in our medical history. It was an extremely complex operation.'
When were they taken to hospital?
Born to a poor couple in a remote part of Bangladesh, the twin sisters - who do not use a surname - were brought to Dhaka a month ago.
Their mother, Shahida Begum, wept following the surgery, describing her tension and joy at news the operation had been a success.
She said: 'Doctors said the surgery was successful, but they are not out of risk yet. I pray to God for my kids' quickest recovery. Let their pain be gone.'
Another case of conjoined twins
It comes as another pair of Bangladeshi twins conjoined at the skull are awaiting a similar complex medical procedure in Dhaka.
The surgery is unprecedented in Bangladesh, and doctors are consulting medical opinions from across the globe as they prepare for the operation.
Doctors are trying to establish whether the one-year-old girls - born otherwise healthy in northwest Bangladesh - share the same brain, something that would vastly complicate the surgery.
THE SEPARATION OF CONJOINED TWINS
The surgical separation of conjoined twins is a delicate and risky procedure, requiring extreme precision and care.
Therefore, the decision to separate twins is a serious one.
Mortality rates for twins who undergo separation vary, depending on their type of connection, and the organs they share.
In cases of twins where the pumping chambers of their hearts are conjoined hearts, there are no known survivors.
Although success rates have improved over the years, surgical separation is still rare.
Since 1950, at least one twin has survived separation about 75 per cent of the time.
It is only after twins are born that doctors can use magnetic resonance imaging, ultrasound and angiography to find out what organs the twins share. In order to determine the feasibility of separation, doctors must carefully assess how the twins' shared organs function.
After separation, most twins need intensive rehabilitation because of the malformation and position of their spines.
The muscles in their backs are constantly being flexed and they often have a difficult time bending their backs forward and backwards and sitting up straight.
Source: University of Maryland Medical Centre
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-4752904/Bangladesh-performs-conjoined-twin-surgery.html
