By IANS
Jaipur : The parents of a pair of conjoined twins in Rajasthan are hoping that doctors will be able to give their babies a new lease of life by separating them. However, surgeons here are unable decide whether or not to go ahead with the operation due to complications involved in the procedure.
Kalu Ram and Phoolwati, residents of Bharatpur, about 180 km from here, were overjoyed when they were blessed with twins 23 days ago. But soon after the delivery, the couple realized that the babies are conjoined.
"I do not know how to react. Should I feel happy or should I cry. All I want is to see both of my children are healthy," said Phoolwati.
Conjoined twins are identical twins whose bodies are joined together. This happens in an estimated one in 200,000 births.
After doctors at the private hospital in Bharatpur where the babies were delivered suggested that they consult super-specialists, Kalu Ram and Phoolwati came to Jaipur in the hope of getting their children separated.
However, it is not easy to separate conjoined twins. Doctors at Jaipur's Sawai Mansingh (SMS) Hospital, Rajasthan's biggest public sector healthcare centre, are struggling to make a decision.
According to Narpat Singh Shekhawat, the hospital superintendent, the twins are connected from the mid-chest to the mid-abdomen. In medical terminology such conjoined twins are referred to as thoraco – omphalopagus twins.
"We suspect that their pericardium and liver are joined but it's not possible to perform the separation surgery since the babies are underweight. At the moment, we are waiting for them to gain some weight," he said.
Doctors say conjoined twins provide one of the greatest challenges to modern paediatric surgery. Despite extensive preoperative investigations, precise definition of conjoined anatomy is often only possible at the time of surgery.
"Things take time when the goal is to safely separate two human beings who are physically bound to each other," said Shekhawat.
"Prima facie, one can say that the surgery would cost anything between 100,000-150,000 in a government hospital," said a surgeon.
Kalu Ram is a poor labourer and cannot afford the cost of the operation and treatment but the hospital has come to his aid.
"I am happy that doctors at SMS Hospital are taking care of all expenses," he said.
Now the biggest challenge facing the doctors is that the twins weigh only 3 kg together, which is too less and operating them at this stage is out of question.
The surgical procedure can only be performed after the babies gain weight. Till then, it's a painful wait for Kalu Ram and Phoolwati.
Successful separation of conjoined twins is rare. But last month, doctors in Chhattisgarh successfully separated 10-month-old twins who were joined at the stomach and liver since birth.