Second separated twin girl leaves hospital
Proud parents get to hold their girls following their separation with both sisters now discharged from hospital.
One girl from conjoined twins who were separated on March 24, has recovered from an operation for heart disease and was discharged from hospital on Wednesday.
Doctors at the Children’s Hospital of Fudan University said the surgery was to ensure her growth in preparation for a future operation which would cure her condition.
The twins, who were connected at their stomachs and shared a liver, were separated at the hospital 36 days after delivery.
One girl was found to have serious congenital heart disease and was using her sister's blood via abnormal blood vessels that connected each other, resulting in the other girl’s poor health.
The separation went smoothly and one girl was discharged two weeks later. The other girl was kept in the intensive care unit due to her heart condition.
“The girl suffers a very complicated heart disease. The development of her pulmonary artery was very poor, so her condition was not suitable for surgery to cure her condition within a short period of time,” said Jia Bing, director of the hospital’s cardiovascular center.
“Her condition also became worse after the separation as there was no transfer of blood from her sister any more. So we decided to launch operations in term. The first surgery was to improve her pulmonary artery development and then we will carry out surgery to cure her condition when she is about a year old.”
The first operation on April 2 was a success. The girl was removed from a respiratory machine seven days later and her heart function had greatly improved.
“We are confident we can help the girl enjoy healthy growth after the future surgery,” Jia said.
Dr Jia Bing from the Children's Hospital of Fudan University checks the sister with heart disease.
