A 70 member strong team of medical workers were successful in separating conjoined twins in a 10 hour long operation on November 26 at Children Hospital 2 in Ho Chi Minh City.
The twins, Nguyen Hoang Phi Long and Nguyen Hoang Phi Phung, from the central province of Ninh Thuan were 14 months old and fused together from the thorax to the abdomen.
Pre-operative investigation showed that they were fused together at the heart, liver, biliary tract, and had defective abdominal wall and thorax, said Dr. Truong Quang Dinh, Deputy Director of Children Hospital 2.
The hospital had to buy man-made tissue for abdominal wall reconstruction. Medical workers of Children Hospital 2, Heart Institute and Hospital of Traumatic and Orthopedics finished the operation at 5pm on the same day.
According to the mother, Nguyen Thi Hong Lam, 21, a local hospital discovered her conjoined twins in her fifth pregnancy. They were born prematurely at a local medical clinic on September 25, 2012.
The VND250 million (US$ 11,857) surgery cost will be covered by Asia Food Corporation.
