Chilean doctors on Sunday separated a pair of six-month-old twins after 16 hours of surgery, a senior doctor at the Sotero del Rio Hospital said here Sunday.
The twins, who were joined at the chest and shared a heart membrane before the surgery, are now under observation in the hospital's Intensive Care Unit.
The toughest part of the operation was to separate the livers of the twins, which was completed at 8:30 p.m. local time Saturday (0030 GMT Sunday). They were then taken separately to the block where their wounds were sutured -- the third and final part of the procedure.
"The surgery stage is now over and has been a real success," said Dr. Fernando Betanzo, the hospital's medical director. "There have been no reverses and everything has come out as planned," he said.
Despite being happy with this stage, the doctors are concerned about the conditions of the twins over the coming weeks which they say will remain as intense. "They too are going to be critical," Betanzo said.
According to the director, 80 percent of inoperable conjoined twins die if they are not operated, while between 50 and 60 percent of those who undergo operations die.
Source: Xinhua
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