Second twin taken off ventilator, stable

NEWDELHI: The second of the conjoined twins, who were separated in an 11-hour-long surgery at Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on October 26, was taken off the ventilator on Saturday.

The first of the conjoined twin, Jaga, was taken off the ventilator on November 1. The second twin, Kalia, was taken off the ventilator 24 days later.

The condition of both the twins, both hailing from Odisha and who were joined in the head, has improved significantly, doctors treating them suggested.

The twins were seperated last month in India’s first such surgery as owing to the complications involved, doctors rarely attempt to separate Craniopagus— joined in the head — twins. They were joined at the head at a 180-degree angle and also shared brain tissue, nerves and major blood vessels.

A team of 40 doctors was involved in separating the twins. Only 59 such surgeries have happened across the world so far.

The first twin — Jaga, was moved out of the intensive care unit (ICU) after a couple of days being off ventilator. He had been responding to commands normally. Doctors are monitoring Kalia’s condition closely, and if he is stable then he is also likely to be moved out of the ICU in a couple of days.

Doctors had maintained that Kalia’s condition was more critical out of the two and would have required a longer ICU stay and ventilator support.

Kalia had also undergone plastic surgery earlier this month to correct a problem with the skin flap covering his head that had started dying.

Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik visited the hospital on Sunday to check on the twins.

The Odisha government has been sponsoring the treatment cost of both the twins, who were admitted to AIIMS in July this year.