Twins conjoined at the abdomen are successfully separated

A pair of conjoined twins from China has been successfully separated after four-hour-long surgery.

The two boys, connected at the abdomen, were 41 days old when surgeons carried out the operation on December 19.

The babies are under hospital observation and are recovering well, according to Chinese state media.

 

The conjoined twins were born on November 8 through a C-section in Guangxi Province, China

They were successfully separated on December 19 and are currently recovering well

They were successfully separated on December 19 and are currently recovering well

The conjoined twins were born to Ms Yang in Guangxi Province, southern China, on November 8 according to Huanqiu.com, an affiliation to People’s Daily Online.  

The babies were delivered through a Caesarean section at the Number 2 People’s Hospital in Pingnan County.

The newborns suffered an infection and ulcer around their conjoined belly. 

They were transferred to the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University in the provincial capital city of Nanning for treatment on the next day. 

Doctors from the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University hold the two brothers

Doctors from the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University hold the two brothers

After running medical checks and having consultations, doctors at the First Affiliated Hospital decided to separate the babies after they reach one month old. 

CONJOINED TWINS: THE FACTS 

Births of conjoined twins, whose skin and internal organs are fused together, are rare.

They are believed to occur just once in every 200,000 live births.

Approximately 40 to 60 percent of conjoined twins arrive stillborn, and about 35 percent survive only one day.

The overall survival rate of conjoined twins is somewhere between 5 percent and 25 percent.

For some reason, female siblings seem to have a better shot at survival than their male counterparts.

Source: University of Maryland 

The hospital said this was because newborn babies wouldn’t be able to receive the anaesthetic well or endure a long operation.

The babies were given intensive care. The hospital said their infection and ulcer had nearly recovered before their separation surgery. 

At 7:30am on December 19, the pair were sent into the operating theatre and underwent general anesthesia.

Near 10 doctors from the departments of paediatric surgery, burns and plastic surgery, anesthesiology and neonatal participated in the operation.

An hour later, the boys were detached from each other after doctors separated their abdominal wall and liver. 

The younger brother was then taken to the opposite operating theatre, and both babies underwent further surgery separately to have their stomach wall mended. 

The surgery finished at around noon. Both boys were in stable condition. 

The babies’ father told Pear Video after the operation: ‘They look very healthy. 

‘Now they’re separated, they would be able to do their own things in life in the future.’  



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