Separated Siamese Twins Improving
Nepalese twins born joined at the head were recovering Friday from the slight fevers they developed after doctors finished a long, dangerous operation to separate their fused brains.
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SINGAPORE (AP) - Three days after the marathon surgery, 11-month-old Ganga and Jamuna Shrestha were ``doing OK ... actually a little better than yesterday,' lead surgeon Dr. Vincent Yeow said.
Bacteria found in the girls' blood was being successfully treated with antibiotics, Yeow said. He said Jamuna was still heavily sedated because of her blood infection.
The girls are still in the crucial stage of recovery from the rare, 96-hour operation to separate them. Doctors said it was too early to tell whether the children suffered brain damage from the surgery.
``They have to pull through the critical period. After that the doctors have to assess what to do next,' said M.N. Swami, Nepal's honorary consul in Singapore. He said the twins' mother, Sandhya, a kindergarten teacher, has been staying out of the intensive care unit because she has a slight cold and does not want to infect her children further.
The twins were born in a remote village in the mountains of Nepal and are the only children of a poor couple in their early 20s. Their home is the small town of Sallyan, a 24-hour bus ride on bad roads from the capital, Katmandu.
A neurosurgeon in Nepal referred the Shrestha family to doctors in Singapore, which is known in the region for its high standard of medical care. The operation had only been attempted by a handful of doctors around the world and has rarely succeeded.
Doctors performed the surgery for free, and the hospital waived many of its charges. People in Singapore have donated $360,000 to help with medical bills and other expenses.
They girls must both undergo plastic surgery to cover their wounds and to further reconstruct their skulls. Ganga also will be treated for a cleft palate.
Bacteria found in the girls' blood was being successfully treated with antibiotics, Yeow said. He said Jamuna was still heavily sedated because of her blood infection.
The girls are still in the crucial stage of recovery from the rare, 96-hour operation to separate them. Doctors said it was too early to tell whether the children suffered brain damage from the surgery.
``They have to pull through the critical period. After that the doctors have to assess what to do next,' said M.N. Swami, Nepal's honorary consul in Singapore. He said the twins' mother, Sandhya, a kindergarten teacher, has been staying out of the intensive care unit because she has a slight cold and does not want to infect her children further.
The twins were born in a remote village in the mountains of Nepal and are the only children of a poor couple in their early 20s. Their home is the small town of Sallyan, a 24-hour bus ride on bad roads from the capital, Katmandu.
A neurosurgeon in Nepal referred the Shrestha family to doctors in Singapore, which is known in the region for its high standard of medical care. The operation had only been attempted by a handful of doctors around the world and has rarely succeeded.
Doctors performed the surgery for free, and the hospital waived many of its charges. People in Singapore have donated $360,000 to help with medical bills and other expenses.
They girls must both undergo plastic surgery to cover their wounds and to further reconstruct their skulls. Ganga also will be treated for a cleft palate.
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