Pygopagus twins successfully separated in 6 hour surgery at HFH

Rawalpindi : Six-month-old female conjoined twins Merab and Manahil were recovering at Holy Family Hospital after surgeons successfully separated them in a marathon surgery.

Talking to this agency on Tuesday, Dr. Mudassar Gondal, head of surgery of the Paediatric Surgery Department at the Holy Family Hospital (HFH), a team of doctors including anaesthesia team comprising Dr Ahmed and Dr. Ayesha headed by Prof Jawad Zaheer and surgeons Prof Nadeem Akhtar, Assistant Professor Dr. Yasir Shehzad and Senior Resident Dr. Mudassar Abbas Siddique, successfully dissected and reconstructed the spinal cord.

He said Pygopagus twins were born six months ago at the HFH with a common sacrum and a common subarachnoid space, and their vaginas and anal canals shared a common posterior wall called as Pygopagus congenital twins in medical terminology.

"Due to the spinal cord and anal canal being attached to the torso of these girls, the surgical team successfully separated them after a five and a half-hour long surgery and fixed the anal canal," Dr Mudassar said adding separated twins were re-examined by the doctor’s board and expressed hope that they would progress rapidly. “It’s a decision that I made as a surgeon. It’s one that we made as a team. It’s a decision we have to live with,” he added.

Pygopagus twins are commonly joined back to back at the base of the spine and the buttocks.

Some Pygopagus twins share the lower gastrointestinal tract, and a few share the genital and urinary organs.