Conjoined Twins Successfully Separated In Abuja Hospital

[Edoman]

A conjoined set of twins that had one liver, a protruding tummy and a lower chest were successfully separated, in a 12-hour surgery involving 78 medical personnel, at the National medical center, Abuja

The leader of the team that performed the surgery, Prof Emmanuel Ameh, said the twins had to be monitored for 15 months before the separation was done.

“One of the major challenges was that the twins came with their intestines bulging out of the lower part of the tummy, which we quickly resolved.

The conjoined twins after the surgery
“We also needed to determine if they could survive separately after separation. We found out that they had two separate hearts that were normal, but with a common cover. They also shared the lower half of the chest and there was only one liver serving the two of them. Other organs were separate and normal.”

Ameh added that before the surgery, the twins needed to grow well in order to withstand the complex surgery. He noted that nutrition and infection control were critical in the preparation.

He added, “We celebrated their first birthday in the ward still conjoined. The surgery was performed on November 14, 2019. By that time they were 15 months-old. A total of 78 medical staff was involved in the 12 and a half hour surgery. We even planned to spend 48 hours, if there was a need for it. After that, the twins spent a week at the Intensive Care Unit before they were taken to the ward.”

If the parents had the means, they would have gone abroad like some other Nigerians and spent at least an equivalent of N20m in foreign currency. It is cheaper doing the surgery here. We cannot quantify the amount spent on the surgery.”

It was not the first time that conjoined twins were separated in a similar operation in a Nigerian hospital. On May 14, 2018, a team of surgeons successfully separated four-month-old conjoined twins at the Federal Medical Centre, Yola.

Also, the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital on June 11 2018, announced that it has separated a conjoined twins

https://punchng.com/78-medical-officers-separate-conjoined-twins-in-12-hour-operation/

[Edoman]

Nigerian doctors separate conjoined twins (photos)






A team of doctors in Nigeria have successfully separated a set of conjoined twins.
 
The doctors spent 13 hours performing complex surgery to separate Goodness and Mercy Martins at the National Hospital Abuja. The surgery involved 78 doctors working in two groups.
 
Goodness and Mercy Martins were born on 13th of August 2018 at the Federal Medical Centre, Keffi Nasarawa state, through a caesarean session. Their unemployed mother had no idea she was expecting twins and she was even more shocked when they came out joined at the chest and abdomen.
 

 
Lead surgeon Emmanuel Ameh told the BBC the operation to separate Goodness and Mercy Martins at the chest and abdomen took place in November and the two sisters were now well enough to go home.
 
He said the operation, which cost about $55,000, was complicated. But the medics at National Hospital Abuja did not charge for their work because the twins’ parents - Michael Edeh and Maria Onya Martins - could not afford the medical bills. They rely on Mr Martins’ salary as a painter to get by.
 
Speaking at the formal presentation of the separated twins on Tuesday, January 7 in Abuja, ahead of their discharge from National Hospital on Wednesday, the Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, attributed the successful outcome of the surgery to the teamwork and administrative support the experts at the hospital received.
 

 
He said: "These beautiful girls of Benue State origin and their proud parents, are beneficiaries of a healthcare system, when it functions as it supposed to.
 
"The case management team has demonstrated that our health system, even with modest resources, can rise up to the highest challenges and offer quality care, to find its position among renowned international hospitals."
 
The girls were brought to the National Hospital in Abuja a day after their birth. Since then, they have undergone four operations by a team of experts including paediatricians, neurologists, anesthesiologists, plastic surgeons, radiologists and others who spent 16 months treating them until they were well enough for the surgery to separate them.
 
Consultant pediatric surgeon, Professor Emmanuel Ameh, who led the team of experts, explained that the case Goodness and Mercy Martins was unusual because they were joined at two of the most delicate organs of the body.
 
He presented a short animation video which explained the steps taken to separate the sisters.
 
"This is an extremely rare condition. The biggest challenge we faced had to do with their separation at the chest region. This is really the first time that twins joined in the chest and the abdomen are separated throughout the entire country. All the other separated twins are joined only in one organ," Ameh said.
 

 
The National Hospital Abuja has separated about 11 conjoined twins over the last 20 years, but in those cases all the twins had been joined at the abdomen.
 
The hospital’s medical director, Jaff Momoh, said this case stood out as it was the first time an operation had involved the lower chest wall, liver and diaphragm.
 
Mr Martins, a painter from Oturkpo, said he was so happy to see his daughters alive and well. He added that the family was looking forward to returning home.
 
He said: "I am so happy to see Goodness wrapped separately. I initially couldn’t believe it. My gratitude goes to God and the medical team. May this success continue."
 
His wife said words were not enough to thank the team of doctors and the kindness of the hospital staff.
 
The minister of health has visited the hospital to praise the efforts of the medics and meet the family. Also, the women's affairs minister has promised to give Mrs Martin a job to help the family.