Chinese doctors separate twin girls

CHINESE doctors have separated four-month-old conjoined twin baby girls in an operation lasting nearly 12 hours, Xinhua news agency said yesterday.

The girls, born prematurely without breastbones, spent their first four months with their livers, hearts and a large area of their breasts and abdomens connected, said Li Yanmin, director of the pediatric department at the First Hospital of Hebei Medical University in Shijiazhuang.

During the operation on Sunday, doctors separated the twins’ livers, repositioned their hearts and rebuilt their breastbones.

Both were in a relatively stable condition but they still had to survive the crucial 72 hours after the operation, Li said.

Doctors had waited to operate until the girls’ joint weight reached 7.5kg (16.5lbs).

They were born with congenital heart disease weighing only 4.3kg.

Last week, doctors in south-west China separated a pair of newborn twin girls. One has since died of heart and lung failure.