THE parents of formerly conjoined twins Uwenzile and Uyihlelile Shilongonyane have expressed happiness and relief that their daughters’ surgery has been successfully completed.
The twins, who underwent a successful six-hour separation operation on Saturday after being born joined at the abdomen, are in a stable condition.
This is according to Sister Irene Buitendag, unit manager of the paediatric intensive care unit at Netcare Unitas Hospital.
“This was a big operation for two tiny babies. Uwenzile and Uyihlelile are being ventilated, under sedation and at present being fed intravenously,” she said.
The twins were born on January 2, weighing 4.21 kilograms, to parents Bongekile Simelane, 19, and her husband Mbongeni Sihlongonyane, from Big Bend in Swaziland.
They are also parents to twin boys aged 2. Bongekile said that until she was seven months pregnant she didn’t know she was going to give birth to a second set of twins.
“At first I was not happy to hear I was expecting twins a second time,” she said. However, once they were born she fell in love with them straight away. “After their birth I was at first not worried as I thought the babies were only attached at the umbilical cord.
“I love my babies so much,” she said tearful and nervous as her babies were taken into theatre.
Paediatric surgeon Dr Mariza de Villiers said that the twins were joined only by a bridge of skin, which made the operation simpler than if they shared vital organs.
“There are always risks when separating conjoined twins, but we have been cautiously optimistic all along. The skin bridge between them meant there was sufficient skin to close the surgical wound on each baby without need for plastic surgery.”
According to Dr Paul Stevens, a paediatric surgeon on the case, one of the main challenges the surgical team anticipated was related to the anaesthesia.
“The twins were conjoined facing each other. Intubation for such tiny babies is delicate enough, but as their faces were so close to one another and they were not able to be placed on their backs to be intubated for anaesthesia, this was a great deal more complicated than usual.”
An all-female team of four anaesthetists participated in the procedure, with each twin being cared for by two anaesthetists for the duration of the surgery.
The doctors worked in two distinct teams, identified by their pink and purple surgical scrub caps.
The Shilongonyane girls are the second pair of conjoined twins De Villiers and Stevens have separated, and are the first to have their separation surgery done at Netcare Unitas Hospital. The paediatric surgeons were assisted by Dr Francisca van der Schyff and Dr Kagiso Batka.