Two-year-old twins joined at the
head have undergone successful surgery at a British hospital to separate their
skulls, brains and blood vessels, say doctors on Tuesday.
The highly complex surgery
involved multiple operations on Safa and Marwa Ullah, who were born in Pakistan
in January 2017 with a condition known as ‘craniopagus’ in which the girls’
skulls and parts of their brains were joined and intertwined.
It is believed that it took
around 100 doctors more than 50 hours to separate the two-year-old sisters
through a series of operations over a five-month period.
“Craniopagus is an exceptionally
rare and complex condition,” said David Dunaway, who co-led the surgical team
that treated the twins.
“The operation, conducted in
February, was the most complex such separation his team had performed to date.”
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| Twins Safa and Marwa Ullah after their seperation (Photo credit: SWNS) |
Having twins joined at the head with fused skulls and separate bodies occurs in less than one in a million births, while having the connection extend into the brain tissue is rarer still.
Around 50 sets of craniopagus
twins are estimated to be born around the world every year, of which only
around 15 are thought to survive beyond the first 30 days of life.
Dunaway said this separation was
helped by state-of-the-art technology, including virtual reality, advanced
imaging and three-dimensional rapid prototyping.
This had allowed the surgeons to
use images of the girls’ brains and blood vessels to plan and practice the
surgery in advance to minimise complications.
The procedures took place at
London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital, with the girls well enough to be
discharged from hospital four months later.
“These cutting-edge scientific
techniques greatly increased the chance of success for Safa and Marwa,” the
Great Ormond Street team said in a statement.
“Their brains were more
intertwined than the previous sets of craniopagus twins making it the most
complicated separation to date.
“Five months after their final
operation, Safa and Marwa are making slow but steady progress.”
He added that “a further period
of recuperation and rehabilitation is essential to maximise their recovery”.
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