Nigerian conjoined female twins to be separated at B'lore hospital

The two girls, daughters of Emmanuel and Comfort Adugbe share a common liver and intestine, Dr Ashley D'Cruz, General Paediatric Surgeon of the Narayana Hrudayalaya Multi-speciality Hospital, said.

He said the omphalopagus twins weighing 10 kg were referred to the hospital. A team of 24 medical personnel will take up the task two years after the successful operation on eight-limbed Laxmi to remove the extra limbs which helped her lead a normal life.
Dr D’Cruz said preliminary investigations had shown that the twins share a very complex internal anatomy. Their livers are fused in the midline, but have separate blood supply. The liver will be divided in the middle to give each baby a good volume of functioning liver, he explained.

The bile duct system and a large part of the proximal bowel would have to be reconstructed, the surgeon said. All other medications will also have to be halved and administered simultaneously to both babies. The operation may take many hours and unforeseen findings during the surgery may delay the progress.
The date of the operation is yet to be decided, as some tests still had to be completed. Once the twins are separated, one of them would be shifted for reconstruction which would be performed by a second surgical team, he said.

Doctors said maintaining a normal temperature during the surgery is paramount as many systems may fail if the babies become hypothermic. After all the reconstructive procedures of the abdomen wall have been completed and when fully recovered, they will be ready to return home. This process may take 3-4 weeks. The chances of mortality in such cases is 30 per cent, a doctor said.