Six weeks after a separation surgery, conjoined twins Love and Prince were discharged from Bai Jerbai Wadia Hospital for Children, Parel, on Monday.
The 20-month-old toddlers, who can now stand without support, were born to a 26-year old woman at Nowrosjee Wadia Maternity Hospital in Parel on September 19, 2016, were separated on December 12, 2017, after a series of complex surgeries.
The twins had a common liver, urinary bladder, intestines and fused pelvic bones. Theirs was an extremely rare birth defect, one in over five lakh, as told by the doctors. Medically they were referred to as ‘xi phi-omphalo-ischiopagus tetrapus tetrapus’ conjoined twins.
The 40-cm-long intestine that they shared was divided, as was the urinary bladder. As told by Dr. Minnie Bodhanwala, CEO, Wadia hospital, the babies were given sections of their shared liver, which will continue to grow till they reach adulthood.
After the surgery, their abdomen regions, which were exposed, was covered in a surgical mesh to prevent infection, and collagen and skin implants were inserted to allow new skin to grow under the mesh.
Prince and Love were on the ventilator for a week and in the ICU for three weeks. They had to undergo multiple dressings under anesthesia with vacuum dressings and collagen applications, but they recovered miraculously without complications.
As a follow-up, doctors have designed a multidisciplinary rehabilitation programme to monitor their growth, development, nutrition, liver function, immunisation and exercise regime for their lower limbs. The toddlers will have to go through one more surgery in the future for bone reconstruction (osteotomy) with a revision of the abdominal closure after which they would be able to perform daily routine activities.
This was the third surgery that Wadia Hospital has successfully undertaken in a row.
Expressing gratitude towards Wadia Hospital, Sheetal, the mother of the twins, said that the hospital did not charge a single rupee for the surgery and the challenging operative procedure was done seamlessly in the hospital.
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