New Delhi, Jul 27: Doctors at AIIMS Delhi have successfully separated conjoined twins Riddhi and Siddhi who were joined from chest and upper part of the belly.
They were diagnosed prior to birth as thoraco-omphalopagus conjoined twins in the fourth month of pregnancy of Deepika Gupta in Uttar Pradesh's Bareilly, Dr Minu Bajpai, head of Department of Paediatric Surgery, said.
Subsequently, they were referred to AIIMS because advanced medical facilities were not available locally, he said.
They were born on July 7 last year and were in the ICU for five months. They were separated on June 8 last month following a nine-hour long surgery.
The twin girls celebrated their first birthday at the hospital.
"The anomaly was peculiar with fused rib cages, livers, partially common diaphragms and fused pericardium (outer covering of the heart). Both the hearts were very close to each other, almost touching and beating in contact. The pericardium was partially fused," Dr Prabudh Goel, Additional Professor in the Department of Paediatric Surgery, said.
The girls were operated at the age of 11 months when they were old enough to tolerate the trauma of surgery, he said.
The surgery was performed under general anesthesia in the newly-commissioned Mother and Child Block at AIIMS, said Dr Bajpai, adding it went for nearly 9 hours and coupled with pre- and post-surgical anesthesia time, it was 12 and a half hours.
"Steps in the surgery involved separation of the common abdominal and chest walls, division of liver tissue in a way that sufficient tissue remain for each baby, division of fused rib cage. It also involved separation of diaphragm, and of pericardium," Dr Bajpai said.
Surgical repair was completed for each twin separately, Dr Goel added.
Prosthetic tissues and grafts were kept available for possible use, however, these were not required since the kids had enough of native tissues to complete the repair successfully, he stated.
The children are still admitted but are now doing well, much to the relief of their parents Deepika and Ankur Gupta. Their happiness knew no bounds as they thanked the doctors profusely for saving the kids.
"We were very much worried when the surgery was being done. But thanks to god and the doctors, our girls were given a new lease of life," said Deepika.
The Paediatric Surgery department has successfully separated three pairs of conjoined twins over the last three years with the case of Riddhi and Siddhi being the latest.
The first and second pair of twins were joined at the hip and shared a common spinal cord and major vessels of the lower body and legs. The first operation was done in 2020 and the second in 2021.
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Baghdad, Feb 25 (AP): Former Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, known for promoting the rule of law, returned to Baghdad Tuesday for the first time in more than two years despite ongoing security threats.
In 2021, he survived an assassination attempt in which two armed drones targeted his residence in Baghdad's Green Zone area. The attack came at a time of tensions sparked by the refusal of Iran-backed militias to accept parliamentary election results.
Al-Kadhimi left Iraq after his term as prime minister ended in 2022 and has been living in London and the United Arab Emirates.
The former prime minister did not immediately make any public statements upon his return.
Three officials with his office who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak publicly said security threats against the former prime minister were still present. They said he had returned at the invitation of current Iraqi political leaders who hoped he could use his connections to help them confront a worsening economic crisis that threatens the country's stability.
Al-Kadhimi has good relations with the United States and Saudi Arabia. Iraq is currently looking to strengthen ties with both countries, particularly as regional upheavals over the past year have left Iran in a weakened position.
During his term, Baghdad hosted a series of talks between Iran and Saudi Arabia, which helped pave the way for the regional rivals to formally restore diplomatic ties in 2023 after a seven-year rift. He was Iraq's former intelligence chief before becoming prime minister in 2020 following mass anti-government protests that toppled the previous cabinet.
Iraq is also set to hold parliamentary elections later this year, raising the possibility that al-Kadhimi might be preparing to attempt a political come-back.