In a surgical first, Mizoram doctors separate conjoined twins

Falkawn: A pair of conjoined twins were successfully separated during a complex procedure that marked a surgical first for the state of Mizoram in Zoram Medical College on Monday. 

The twins who were joined at the chest, abdomen and liver were born on February 9, 2023, in Lawngtlai, a southern district in Mizoram. They were referred to ZMC from Lawngtlai District Hospital.  

According to the ZMC Director Dr. T Lalhmangaihi, “A surgeon team consisting of a paediatric surgeon, plastic surgeon, general surgeon and anaesthesiologist performed the operation for three hours.”

 As the twins share a common liver, which will not be able to support both of them, the liver had to be separated with the hope that it will support one of the two. Both babies are currently in ZMC’s NICU and their condition is being monitored. 

Before the operation, ZMC radiologists conducted a careful study through a contrast CT scan. Various tests were done after which consultation was made among anesthesiologists on the next step to take. As a final step, consent was taken from the parents to conduct the operation with the hope of saving one of the twins, said the ZMC director.  

A staff working at the Lawngtlai district hospital told EastMojo that the family of the conjoined twins wanted to protect their privacy from the media. “As soon as the babies were born, they were put in an SNCU. The medical team who performed the c-section at the time of their birth had to work for extended hours due to the complication of the case,” she said. 

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