The twins finally saw each other face to face for the first time after a
gruelling operation that took 12 hours in India.
Ericana and
Eliudi, the one year-old conjoined male twins from Rural Dodoma, have
finally seen each other face to face. Doctors at India’s Apollo Hospital
announced yesterday that the babies, who were literally joined at the
hip, have fully recovered and are free to come home.
The “miracle” twins arrive home today as healthy
individuals after a successful operation that was a first in the world
for their rare type of conjoined babies.
The conjoined twins, who were separated last
December, will be received by enthusiastic family members and government
officials at Julius Nyerere International Airport this afternoon before
proceeding to their home in Kasumulu in Dodoma.
The twins and their mother, Grace, left Chennai
last night shortly after medical personnel at the Apollo Vanagaram
Hospital threw them a first birthday party to toast their survival.
Mother and sons left Tanzania nine months ago with
slim hope that they would survive the complicated surgery of twins
joined at the tail end of their spines, scientifically described as
Pygopagus twins.
The government sent them to India, where doctors
were to make their first ever attempt at separating Pygopagus twins, who
account for just 17 per cent of the conjoined twin population in the
world.
In the end, when they were put under the knife as
20 Apollo surgeons and other medical experts took some 18 hours to
separate them in a case that was televised live and became a milestone
in the medical world.
The surgery involved separating the spine, anus,
rectum, penis and urethra. The babies had a single anus, urinary passage
and rectum. Their penises were fused in what was doctors said was
unlike anything they had seen before. About Sh100 million was spent on
the surgery.
Mr Senu Sam, the manager of International Patients
Services at Apollo hospital, told The Citizen the hospital hosted a
gala celebration for the twins yesterday.
He added: “The twins saw each other for the first
time only three weeks after surgery. “It was great to see the twins
explore each other. Eluidi took Ericana’s fingers and playfully lapped
them. Both the twins are boisterous and immensely curious about the
environment.”
Dr Venkata Sripathi, the Senior Consultant
Paediatric Urologist who led the operation, said: “While they are
returning home this evening (yesterday evening), we look forward to
having them back six months from now for surgical procedures on the
penis and for colostomy closure.”
The Indian doctors said the minister for Health
and Social Welfare, Dr Seif Rashid, was personally following up the
kid’s recovery. Both babies have been stable and show signs of a
promising and speedy recovery and can now look forward to leading normal
lives as two separate individuals back home.
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