Siamese twins may be separated after 28 years

Siamese twins joined at the head left Iran for Singapore today for medical tests and possible surgery to separate them after 28 years of shared life.

Laleh and Ladan Bijani said at Tehran airport that their trip would be the “start of a fateful long journey that would decide the rest of our life.”

The female twins wore all cream outfits, including a single headscarf - observing the Islamic dress code required for women in Iran.

“We are counting the seconds to see the biggest dream of our life come true: to live as two independent individuals,” the twins said.

“Will our dreams come true?” asked a nervous Laleh, drawing tears from friends who were at the airport to see them off.

“We can’t think otherwise,” responded Ladan as she took out a handkerchief to wipe the tears from the cheeks of Laleh.

In 1996 Laleh and Ladan underwent tests in Germany where they were told the doctors concluded that separation surgery could be fatal for one or both of them. Their condition is complicated by the fact that they share an artery supplying blood to the brain.

However, in Singapore they will be examined by Dr Keith Goh, who was a key member of the team that separated Nepalese babies Ganga and Jamuna Shrestha in 1997.

Dr Goh said the tests performed on the twins in Germany are now outdated and new tests will be carried out to determine whether separation surgery would be safe.

The twins have conflicting views and frequently disagree on what to eat, read or watch on television and how to spend their leisure time.

“I’m the mother and Laleh is the daughter,” said Ladan, who has assumed the role of spokeswoman. In Singapore, it could be different as Laleh has a better knowledge of English.

Laleh and Ladan graduated in law from Tehran University earlier this year.

As they were unable to take the entrance examinations separately, the government granted them a scholarship to the law faculty in 1994. Distracted by their attempts to find doctors who could separate them, it took the twins six and half years, instead of the normal four, to obtain their degrees.