Hyderabad: Conjoined twins Veena and Vani will be taken to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, for diagnostic investigations to check whether they can be sent to London for separation surgery.
This was announced by three doctors from the premier institute who examined the twins at their home for many years, Niloufer Hospital. Their parents have expressed their inability to support the twins.
AIIMS neurosurgeons Dr Ashish Suri, Dr Manmohan Singh and plastic surgeon Dr Manish Singhal examined the twins and went through the investigation schedules carried out by doctors at Niloufer Hospital. Dr Narahari of Niloufer Hospital said: “They have asked for a few tests to be conducted. After getting the results, will take the twins to the AIIMS for a week or 10 days where further investigations will be carried out. They will give the Telangana state government a a report on their fitness for separation surgery.”
The Telangana state government had invited the doctors to evaluate whether they can be sent to London for surgery where the two twins can be separated. All the three doctors concluded that the twins were healthy and their reports so far had been very positive, said a senior doctor at the hospital. But a final call will be taken only after a battery of tests.
Case made complicated by twins’ common dural sinus
Life has been far from normal for these conjoined twins, joined at the head, for the last 12 years. Born on October 17, 2003, the twins of Mr Murali and Ms Nagarlakshmi from Suryapet were brought up at the Niloufer Hospital.
This year, a group of doctors from UK led by Dr David Dunaway, head of Craniofacial Unit, Great Ormond Street Hospital and Dr Noor Ul Owase Jeelani, pediatric neurosurgeon at the same hospital, reviewed the twins and discussed with their parents the complexities of surgeries. The doctors have given an 80 per cent chance to the case.
The case is made complicated by the dural sinus that pumps blood from the heart to the brain which is shared by both. While the artery can be restructured for one of them, the other needs a fresh support system. The cost involved is between Rs 10 crore to Rs 15 crore. The Telangana government has agreed to foot the bill.
