Conjoined twins abandoned by their parents have been separated after a 12 hour operation in India.
Aradhana and Stuti Yadav, 11-month-old girls with fused livers and two hearts joined by a common membrane, had been dumped in a hospital hours after birth.
A specialist team of 23 doctors and 11 nurses from India and Australia took part in the operation, which was paid for by public donations after the girls’ plight was featured on national TV.
Public generosity was matched by a £22,000 fund from the Madhya Pradesh state government.
The day long operation to separate Aradhana and Stuti began at 8am on June 20.
“They had separate hearts and livers but the problem was both the hearts were in single sac,” said Mr Sonwani.
“All the organs in our body are covered with a dedicated sac. In case of the heart, its called pericardium. But in these babies, there was only one common pericardium. Similarly they had separate but fused livers,” he added.
During the operation a team of surgeons separated the girls’ hearts and transplanted the organs into each chest cavity. They then separated their livers.
Both the twins have been kept on ventilators and they will be under close medical observation for about 48 hours.
Doctors are optimistic both girls will make a full recovery.
The parents have been tracked down and convince to take home the girls after the operation. They are farmers in their late twenties and have a six years old son.
That is incredible