‘First phase of surgery to separate twins went well’

New Delhi: The first stage of India’s first craniopagus surgery to separate two-year-old twins has been completed successfully on Monday. 

A team of around 20 doctors performed a more than 24-hour-long surgery to separate the veins shared by the babies that return blood to the heart from the brain. The second phase is likely to be conducted in October where the actual separation of the head will take place.

“There was no major blood loss or intraoperative problems during the surgery. Though the twins are still joined at the head, however, a significant portion of their brain was separated and a new venous bypass channel has been created in them,” said Dr A.K. Mahapatra, Chief of Neurosciences Centre, AIIMS.

The second phase is likely to be conducted in October where the actual separation of the head will take place. The twins were taken to the operation theatre around 4:45 am on Monday and the surgery began at around 9 am and went on till 5 am Tuesday.

The twins named Jagannath and Balram are from Kandhamal district in Odisha were admitted to AIIMS on July 14. This is a rare condition the team of doctors, who conducted pre-surgery assessment of the twins, the doctors said. A team of AIIMS's neurosurgery, neuro-anaesthesia and plastic surgery specialists, besides a Japanese expert were involved in the procedure. 

Deepak Gupta, professor of neurosurgery at AIIMS had said, “The twins suffer from the condition that afflicts one in 30 lakh children, of which 50 per cent die either at birth or within 24 hours. Surgery is feasible only in 25 per cent cases, while the remaining continue to live with the condition.” The Odisha government has sanctioned `1 crore to help the twins’ parents with the treatment.