Johannesburg - After six hours of surgery, twin girls Uwenzile and Uyihlelile Shilongonyane, born conjoined on January 2, began a new life apart at the Netcare Unitas Hospital in Centurion, Gauteng, on Saturday.
The pair, from Big Bend in Swaziland, underwent a successful operation to the delight of their parents, 19-year-old mother Bongekile Simelane and Mbongeni Sihlongonyane.
The operation involved a team of eight doctors and 11 nurses.
The twins together weighed 4.21kg at birth and are the second set of conjoined twins that Drs Mariza de Villiers and Paul Stevens have separated. They are 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.
Speaking before the operation, paediatric surgeons De Villiers and Stevens agreed that the twins had a good prognosis.
“This type of conjoined twins are known as omphalopagus twins, which means they were joined at the lower abdomen and do not share a heart,” they noted.
“Pre-operative assessments indicated the babies also did not share any other vital organs. This considerably improved chances of surviving surgical separation and will also contribute greatly to them leading healthy lives,” said De Villiers.
She said the twins were joined only by a bridge of skin, which made the operation simpler than if they shared vital organs.
“There are always considerable risks when separating conjoined twins, but we have been cautiously optimistic all along that the operation would have a good outcome for both twins,” she said.
“The fact there was a skin bridge between them meant there was sufficient skin to close the resultant surgical wound on each baby without the need for plastic surgery.”
Stevens said one of the main problems the surgical team anticipated, related to the anaesthesia.
“The twins were conjoined in such a way that they were 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.”
Four anaesthetists took part in the procedure, with each twin being cared for by two anaesthetists for the duration of the surgery.
The doctors worked in two teams, identified by their pink and purple surgical scrub caps.
According to Bongkile, it was not until the seven month of her pregnancy that she became aware that she was carrying twins.
“At first I was not happy to hear that I was expecting twins for the second time,” she recalled. “However, once they were born everything changed. After their birth I was at first not worried as I thought the babies were only attached at the umbilical cord."
Netcare Unitas Hospital General Manager Robert Jordaan said they were all impressed with the ease with which the young mother had been handling her conjoined babies
“This is a proud moment for Netcare Unitas Hospital, especially for our team of doctors and nurses who participated in this operation.
"What happened here today represents a milestone in the medical history of our facility,” Jordaan said.