The issue of separation surgery on conjoined twins Vani and Veena, who have been at Niloufer hospital here since 2007, has been growing more complicated with their age.
In the past, a couple of expert teams from the US and Singapore conducted tests and concluded that separation of the conjoined twins will pose life threat to one or both the girls. However, Dr NCK Reddy, former superintendent of Niloufer hospital, has said he could separate them safely with 50 percent chance of success if the government permits.
“The problem too is growing with their age and now the twins are nine years old. It is better to separate them before it becomes impossible,” said Reddy, who retired in 2008 as a senior pediatric surgeon.
Dr Reddy was the man who got Vani and Veena shifted from Guntur general hospital to the paediatric surgical unit of Niloufer Hospital in 2007, when he was the superintendent of the hospital, on the advice of the director of medical education, for performing the surgery to separate them. However, as Dr Reddy went to the USA on personal work, the state government tried foreign experts. The surgery did not take place for technical and non-technical reasons.
“Now, if the government permits me to separate Vani and Veena, I am ready to take up the challenge, though the outcome cannot be predicted. As the girls’ parents are prepared for it, it is better to conduct the operation before it becomes impossible,” he added.
He sought permission from the director of medical education. If he gets the government’s nod, he will from a team of experts, including a neurologist, and take up the series of surgeries required to separate them. “It has to be done in three steps over a period of ten months,” he said.
He is ready to submit his surgical plan and cost estimation to the government. “Passing time without conducting the operation will pose be a problem for the life of the twins,” he said.
The twins are healthy with a combined weight of 52 kg. They have good learning abilities and are no different from any normal child,” said Daruga Raghunath, superintendent of Niloufer hospital.