Tanzanian mom feels extremely happy after successful pygopagus surgery
Chennai: The Swahili smile said it all. The nine-month-old twins Ericana and Eluidi have been freed, surgically, from their conjoined bond. Mom Grace Mwakyusa couldn’t suppress her broad smile as she softly murmured, in native Swahili, that she was ‘very happy’.
Before she arrived at the press conference with the doctors bringing their good news of the success of the 18-your surgery to separate the pygopagus (conjoined at buttocks) twins, the brave Tanzanian mom had seen Ericana through the ICU glass window. He was enjoying a cup of custard.
Apollo chairman told reporters how “very unique and quite challenging” the task for the 20-member team of specialists had been at the (Dec 16) surgery.
“Medical literature has so far reported only 30 sets of pygopagus twins and 26 of them were girls. This is the fifth pair”, he said.
Dr Venkat Sripathi, senior consultant pediatric urologist, who led the team of specialists in neurosurgery, plastic surgery, paediatric surgery and paediatric urology, said it took 13 hours to separate Ericana and Eluidi and another five hours for the delicate reconstruction.
“The most challenging tasks were the spinal separation without injury to their nerves, separation of the fused phallus without nerve and vessel injury, separation of the urinary bladder and urethra followed by reconstruction of the pelvic floor around the rectum and anus, providing skin cover.”
“The boys will be shifted to wards in about seven days and discharged in three weeks. They will come back in six months for hypospadias (correcting the penis) and colostomies (rectal reconstruction)
Dr. Edward Kiely, paediatric and neonatal surgeon, and Dr Richard Howard, anaesthetist- both from Great Ormond Street Hospital in London were present to proctor the team during the surgery.
