Experts in Nigeria had given up hope of saving both the girls in case of separation surgery that was needed to give them a normal life.
The twins shared their spinal cords, lower intestinal tract and genitourinary tracts. This meant that they had one common passage for fecal matter and another one for passing urine.
Their parents got to know about such surgeries being successfully carried out in India. The twins were 7-months old when they were brought to BLK SSH hospital here.
He said if not meticulously planned, the success rate in such cases is just 30 per cent.
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A team involving 10 super specialities were formed to do the separation in three stages. The surgery lasted for about 13 hours after which the girls were moved to separate OTs to carry out further reconstruction.
"By pumping in saline over a period of two months the tissue expanders were gradually inflated once a week. This helped in expansion of the skin and generation of good tissue cover," Jain said.
This was followed by the actual separation of the spinal cords, intestine and genitourinary tract which was carried out along with the reconstruction.
In the same stage, a temporary passage for fecal matter was created in the sisters' abdomen which will be closed after two months.
Dr A K Bath, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon, constructed a new genitourinary tract with new genitalia for each of the girls. Their intestines were repaired with separate anal openings.
"It took five hours of nerve wracking work, but now the girls will appear absolutely normal externally as well," said Bath.