AIIMS: Second phase surgery of conjoined twins Jaga and Kalia begins

A team of about 30 doctors today began the second phase surgery to separate conjoined twins Jaga and Kalia of Kandhamal at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi, Odisha health minister said.

The team of doctors at the AIIMS are performing the operation on Jaga and Kalia to separate their heads and no expert from abroad is carrying out the procedure, Odisha's Health and Family Welfare minister Pratap Jena said here.

The operation could take over 25 hours, he said.

The 28-month-old twins are craniopagus conjoined twins who are joined at the heads. This is a very rare condition, a member of the team of doctors said.

"The twins were taken to the operation theatre at 6 am and the phase-II surgery started at about 9 am today. We hope things will go well with the blessings of Lord Jagannath," Jena said.

The first phase of surgery was done on August 28.

"We had suggested to the AIIMS authorities to engage experts from across the world in the operation process, if needed. The Odisha government is ready to bear the expenses of the foreign doctors," the minister said.

Jena said that the second stage operation had to be postponed earlier as the boys were undergoing regular blood transfusion.

Bhuyan Kanhar, father of the twins said, "The surgery is being done as the condition of Jaga deteriorated."

The conjoined twins of Milipada village under Phiringia block in Kandhamal district were admitted in the AIIMS, New Delhi, on 14 July.

Odisha government has sanctioned Rs one crore from the Chief Minister's Relief Fund (CMRF) for the treatment of the twins.

In the almost 20-hour-long first phase surgery, the doctors had performed venous bypass to separate the veins shared by the babies that return blood to the heart from the brain.

-PTI