A pair of extremely rare conjoined twins were successfully separated after a total of 55 hours of surgery during a months-long endeavor to help them each live independent lives.
The odds were stacked against Safa and Marwa Ullah, now 2, from the moment they were born, according to the officials at the London hospital where the surgeries were performed. Not only were the girls conjoined twins -- a condition that occurs once in every 2.5 million births -- but they were also craniopagus twins, meaning they were joined at the head.
"We are indebted to the hospital and to the staff and we would like to thank them for everything they have done," the twins’ mother, Zainab Bibi, said in a statement."We are extremely excited about the future." "The secret of doing them properly is like any other complex problem," he said in a video explaining the surgery."You break it down into smaller, much more manageable steps."
The third procedure focused on the skull and used a technique known as tissue expansion to stretch out the skin. The reconstruction was then done with their own bones and covering the top of their heads with the expanded skin."We are delighted we have been able to help Safa and Marwa and their family," Jeelani said."It has been a long and complex journey for them, and for the clinical team looking after them.
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