Rare Conjoined twins successfully separated in London

Safa and Marwa, the rare conjoined twins from Pakistan were successfully separated in Great Ormond Street Hospital, London. The twins were born by caesarian section in early January 2017 in Peshawar, Pakistan.

The two year old twins had undergone three major operations to separate their heads at the Great Ormond Street Hospital.

They had their first operation at the age of just 19 months in October 2018.

This was a very rare case where the girls were craniopagus twins, with their skulls and blood vessels fused together. Craniopagus twins are those who will be fused at the cranium.

According to Britain’s National Health Service, one in every 2.5 million births produces conjoined twins and only 5% of them are fused at the head.

The hospital had previously separated craniopagus twins in 2006 and 2011, which was all successful.

The technology of virtual reality and 3D printing had been used in the surgery, for creating an exact model of the girls’ anatomy. This helped the doctors to view the complex structure of their skulls as well as the positioning of their brains and blood vessels.

Four major operations with a total time of 55 hours had been done in this medical case with about 100 medical staff included. Reports said that all the amount was funded by a private donor.

The girls were discharged from the hospital and sent with their mother Zainab and their grandfather Mohammad Sadat Hussain.

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