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LATEST: Siamese twins delivered at Karanda

By Arron Nyamayaro and Mirirai Nsingo A Mt Darwin 33-year-old woman gave birth to three legged conjoined twins at Karanda Hospital on Thur...

By Arron Nyamayaro and Mirirai Nsingo
A Mt Darwin 33-year-old woman gave birth to three legged conjoined twins at Karanda Hospital on Thursday and are keeping their faith in God.

The couple is still in shock despite having done previous scans earlier that revealed that the twins were deformed. Termination had been suggested by medical experts but the parents refused to have the pregnancy terminated.

The twins have two heads, four arms, three legs, a closed anus and one male sex organ.

When H-Metro visited the hospital medical authorities at the hospital, they confirmed the bizarre birth noting that the babies were resting after having undergone surgery to enable them to pass stool.

“I can confirm that the conjoint twin babies were born on Thursday and they are receiving medical attention. They had colostomy done this morning to enable them to pass stool and they are still very fragile,” said the Canadian born Dr David Thistle.

Colostomy is a surgical procedure that brings one end of the large intestine out through an opening (stoma) made in the abdominal wall. Stools moving through the intestine drain through the stoma into a bag attached to the abdomen
The Siamese twins were born at Karanda Mission Hospital.
“We are keeping the privacy of the parents who are still in shock and we are praying for a successful separation of the twins. We are consulting other professors and they will soon be taken to Harare Central hospital where they will undergo the operation.

“If it doesn’t succeed we might have to take them to Canada. You cannot see the babies (because) like I told you that they have just come from the theatre,” he added.


Sources at the hospital said the couple had received counseling and had been advised to terminate the pregnancy but they refused.

“The situation is traumatic to the mother although they had been advised that the twins had more deformities at the infancy of the pregnancy. They share one anus and sex organ although they have four kidneys.

“The twins are very fragile while the parents are also in denial. They are still being counseled.

“If a scan detects abnormalities during pregnancy, chances that there are more deformities that cannot be detected by the scan are high hence the reason why a termination in such scenarios is suggested,” revealed the source.

The 33-year-old is said to have given birth through a caesarian section to the set which is close to 6 kilogrammes of birth weight.

“The mother came to Karanda in August and she has been admitted since then until she was almost nine months pregnant although she was being closely monitored,” added another source.

Meanwhile professors yesterday flocked to the hospital to see the twins as they mapped the way forward.

This will not be the first set of siamese twins to be operated this year as another set that was joined from the lower chest to the upper abdomen and shared the same liver was successfully operated this year marking a milestone achievement for the country.

The most delicate part of the operation was the liver which had to be cut into two although it can grow back to a normal size.

Another pair was also born early this year in Chegutu that shared most of the body’s vital organs but however didn’t survive.

A doctor who successfully delivered the twins at Chegutu Hospital said their survival was not possible as they shared too many vital organs.

“The twins were born in January after a very complex surgery when we realised that there was one huge trunk with two heads and two limbs. They were transferred to Harare hospital but they died before they were separated.

“Survival chances are very slim when major organs like spinal cord, digestive system and one heart are shared,” said the Medical who delivered the Chegutu Siamese twins, Dr Carter Nhara.-H-Metro
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