Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Conjoined twins successfully separated in 13-hour operation
DURBAN’S miracle twins, Nkosingiphile and Siphiwe slept through their debut to the big world at Albert Luthuli Hospital yesterday.
With tiny curled hands slightly moving and little chests rising and falling, the 5-month-old girls were unconcerned that they were making medical history.
The twins were born in Pongola on October 8 last year, conjoined at the chest and abdomen and were admitted into the hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, headed by chief specialist of the unit Dr Harshavadan Mackanjee.
They were separated in a 13-hour operation on March 11 by a team of 25 specialists.
Yesterday morning, Sphiwe was taken off life support and Mackanjee said Nkosingiphile should soon follow suit.
Mackanjee said, “When they arrived at the hospital they were a combined weight of 3.4kg and we had to get them to a weight of 10kg to make separation feasible.”
And then doctors discovered with delight that the twins did not share a heart, but were nestled close together.
“During their stay in the ICU, they were meticulously evaluated with regard to what can and cannot be done to areas that were conjoined, This included constant and numerous discussions with both parents. The operation was very high risk and was planned segmentally for each team, working one at a time,” said Mackanjee.
Practice runs were done both a week before and a day before the operation to ensure a correct and meticulous set up in the theatre,
“Their hearts were next to each other, which was a big challenge. Then separating the liver was done inch by inch, as livers bleed a lot and that took two hours.
“Closing the chest and abdomen also took time. The anaesthetist had to keep the babies under for 14 hours.”
The babies were returned to ICU in a stable condition and the first crucial 24 post hours remained uneventful.
“You could barely see the babies’ faces without all the paraphernalia around them,” said Mackanjee, adding that the babies are missing each other after spending five months face to face and are now in separate cots, so mirrors have been placed as a comfort source.
The twins mother, Fikile broke down into tears at the press conference yesterday as she described her relief.
“It feels like home here. When I entered the hospital, I was so unsure and the whole process of the operation was outstanding. I’m so relieved it is all over,” she said.
The KZN Health MEC Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo congratulated the team of specialists and nursing staff.
“This is a showcase of what South Africa can do. It is a miracle to start with that the babies were kept free of infection for the first five months.”
The babies will remain in intensive care for four weeks.