BHUTANESE TWINS
NIMA AND DAWA ARE BOTH IN A STABLE CONDITION
Bhutanese twins Nima and Dawa are both in a stable condition after they were separated in a delicate six-hour procedure in Melbourne. A spokesperson from the Royal Childrens’ Hospital gave the update at 4pm on Saturday, saying they were recovering on a hospital ward.
The sisters, who spent the first 15 months of their lives joined at the torso, lay metres apart for the first time on Friday after a team of experts managed to successfully separate them.
Up to 25 surgeons, nurses and anaesthetists worked together to split the girls’ connected livers and reconstruct their abdomens, closing over the area that was previously attached.
Head of paediatric surgery Dr Joe Crameri, who led the operation, said the girls were breathing independently and in recovery.
It was hoped they would not need intensive care.
Mother Bhumchu Zangmo, who brought Nima and Dawa to Australia in October, was said to be ‘very relieved’ and filled with joy following the successful surgery. The girls are likely to spend at least a week in hospital before continuing their recovery at the Children First Foundation retreat in Kilmore, where they were cared for in the lead-up to the operation.
The procedure and recovery are expected to cost at least $350,000 and the state government has offered to pay the bill. Other funds raised will go towards the twins’ rehabilitation and return home.
Dr Crameri told ABC News the procedure was a success and had been shorter than initially expected and the twins were ‘doing well’.
‘We saw two young girls who were very ready for their surgery, who were able to cope very well with the surgery and are currently in our recovery doing very well,’ Dr Crameri said. The paediatrician said his team was well prepared for the surgery and there weren’t any complications or major bleeding during the procedure.
Dr Crameri said there was no significant bowel attachments that complicated the procedure and the main challenge was to reconstruct the infants’ abdomens.
He said the best part of the surgery was that there weren’t any ‘highs or lows’ - it was all very calm and quiet with ‘calm conversation’.
Dr Crameri added once the team realised they were able to divide the liver successfully without compromising the girls or doing ‘anything fancy’ to the bowel was a ‘sense of relief’.
The twins were brought to Australia from the Himalayas’ Bhutan for the surgery earlier this month but the procedure had been delayed as a result of assessments.
After they first arrived at the hospital in October, doctors decided to postpone the surgery to allow more time to bolster their nutrition levels.
The girls are likely to spend at least a week in hospital before continuing their recovery at the Children First Foundation retreat in Kilmore