The parents of conjoined twin girls are preparing for a landmark surgery to separate the two babies joined at the head. Four-month-old Nadira Alifa Putri and Nadiba Aisyah Putri were born on 21 January, 2016 at the Tanjungpinang Regional General Hospital in Indonesia.
Both were born after a caesarean section. Parents Siti Nuryaningsih and Juarnes Prana Dinata, both 30, were blessed with triplets, two of which turned out to be conjoined.
The doctors were shocked at birth when they realised it was a triplet and a conjoined twin as well. I am glad that all the babies are healthy but I am really looking forward to their separation of the conjoined babies. It is really difficult for me and my wife to see them like that.Juarnes Prana Dinata, Father of conjoined twins
The conjoined babies are conjoined at the skull but have different brains, giving the parents hope that they can be successfully separated.
Both of them have completely different personalities. They are too young to make decisions but they know what they want to do in that moment. So we think attempting a separation surgery is a step that needs to be taken. When one sleeps the other one wants to play so their sense of doing things is really messed up. We are really looking forward to their separation.Siti Nuryaningsih, Mother of conjoined twins
The twins have been referred to the Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital in Jakarta. But doctors at the hospital have asked the parents to wait until the babies reach an optimal weight.
In the referral process, Juarnes said: “The results were not satisfactory because the doctors in the Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital will not be able to perform a separation surgery until they reach the minimal weight of 10 kilograms. “We are hoping that the babies will gain weight in the next 6-8 months.”
Conjoined twins occur about once in every 200,000 live births and their survival is ‘anything but assured’ according to the University of Maryland Medical Centre.
It claims 40 to 60 per cent of conjoined twins arrive stillborn and tragically about 35 per cent only survive for a single day.
(Video Credits: AP/Caters TV)
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