It is a new lease of life for conjoined
twins from Tanzania who had shared a
common heart lining, diaphragm and a
liver.
Doctors, including two teams of plastic
surgeons at leading city-based Apollo
Children’s Hospital, who undertook a
marathon, 11-hour operation managed
to separate the twins. The twins’
condition was described as thoraco
omphalopagus – the fusing of two bodies
at the lower chest and abdomen. The
eight-and-a-half months old Abriana and
Adriana were conjoined and had been
sharing a common heart lining and
diaphragm. They also had a connected
liver that had to be separated with
minimal blood loss.
About 50 professionals that also
included paediatrician and urologists
had planned meticulously for the
surgery which was performed last
month. According to chairman-founder,
Apollo Hospitals Enterprises Ltd, Dr
Prathap C. Reddy, said after being
admitted in August this year, Abriana
and Adriana, children of Jimmy Mtemi
and Carol-yn Zakaria of Dar-es-Salaam,
underwent the final separation surgery
on November 11, 2014.
He said Indian healthcare offered
medical treatment for such critical issues
at affordable costs than many other
countries. Apollo Hospitals executive
vice-chairperson, Dr Preetha Reddy,
lauded the doctors for their unique feat.
“It took seven hours for the surgery and
another four hours for closure by plastic
surgeons,” Dr Venkata Sripathi, who
supervised the surgery, told reporters
here on Tuesday. The surgery involved
separation of the pericardium (heart
lining), diaphragm and the connected
livers. Conjoined births are rare, one in
50,000 to one in 1 lakh. However, more
than 35 per cent die after birth.
Adriana had developed some
complications post-surgery and another
procedure was carried out on her, details
of which were constantly shared
between doctors on mobile phone
messaging platform, WhatsApp.
“Adriana’s heart had to be covered with
bovine pericardium and carefully closed
with skin and soft tissue. The liver, which
was abnormally large, could not be fully
reduced in both babies,” said Dr K.S.
Sivakumar, plastic and reconstructive
surgeon under whom the twins were
admitted.

www.punchng.com/health/healthwise/indian-doctors-separate-african-conjoined-twins/