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Dr George Mukhari Academic Hospital performs successful operation on co-joined twins

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The four months old co-joined twin boys have been given a new chance to leave a healthier life.

This after a successful operation to separate them.

The twin boys were born with joined liver, chest and abdomen at Ga-Rankuwa north of Pretoria in July this year.

Gauteng Health MEC Gwen Ramokgopa was over the moon to find the twins and their mother in a happy mood while visiting them in their hospital ward on Sunday.

The twin boys kept turning their faces towards the media cameras even after journalists were warned not to show their faces in public.

However, their real names and that of the parents cannot be divulged as per the request of the family.

Ramokgopa says that the successful operation show cases the expertise South Africa’s medical institutions have.

“But we also want to thank those that volunteered. We also had a team of paediatric specialists who came in from the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital who assisted, and also those in the private sector, one other surgeon. So this has been a team of South African experts that we are proud of. This really shows what the public sector can offer families that are poorer, that couldn’t have offered hope for their children.”

The 26-year-old unemployed mother of twins, who also has another ten-year old son, said at first she was shocked to be presented with co-joined babies by the hospital staff after giving birth in July, but now the young mother from Limpopo is happy to have a unique set of twins, after they were successfully separated three weeks ago.

“The fact is that they are different and I feel they are also special and I feel that God has chosen me and gave me these kids to show me his mercy and grace.”

It took a team of about thirty medical experts to conduct the operation that lasted several hours.

Professor Dini Mawela led the team that successfully carried out the operation says: “When they arrived in July already we started planning. We had weekly meetings where we reviewed our weekly investigations and how we are going to do it and who was going to do exactly what. We also had to plan in terms of resources and we also got help from outside, from other specialists.”

This is one of the most expensive operations which could’ve cost the family in the region of two-million-rand if done in a private medical institution.

The twins will only be released from hospital once the doctors have made further observation on their condition.

This is not the first time, that South Africa successfully dealt with cases of co-joined twins, but it is unique as in this case, the twins were sharing a liver.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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