Condition Of Conjoined Twins From Odisha Stable After Surgery

A team of doctors at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) who performed the complicated surgery to separate a pair of conjoined twins from Odisha said, that the condition of the twins who are joined at the head is stable.

"The first phases of the surgery was successful. 30 percent of the surgery is completed. However, the second phase which is extremely important is yet to be performed. The team of doctors from the neurosurgery, anesthesia, and pediatrics met to discuss the matter further" a doctor, part of the medical team treating the twins said.

The surgery for separation of conjoined twins Jaga and Balia is being performed in two stages. The first stage began at 9 a.m on Monday and was scheduled to take seven hours. However, the procedure took nearly 20 hours due to medical complications.

The two-and-a-half year-old craniopagus twins, or fused at the cranium, were brought to AIIMS on July 14, from Milipada village in Kandhamal district of Odisha.

According to doctors, the surgery is not going to be easy and the twins have undergone several tests before undergoing the surgery.

The medical team treating the twins comprises 40 members, including a top surgeon from Japan.

While conjoined twins are known to occur in about every 2,00,000 births, craniopagus twins are rarer still, accounting for about only two per cent.

The Odisha government has already sanctioned Rs 1 crore for the surgery at AIIMS.

Doctors said the twins are doing "relatively well". "Surgery was uneventful and there was no major blood loss or intraoperative problem," said Dr A K Mahapatra, chief of the neurosciences centre at AIIMS, who headed a team of 40 doctors.