Greek conjoined twin girls successfully separated

Published on Wednesday 15 October 2003 01:00

FOUR-month-old conjoined twins girls from Greece have been successfully separated and should be able to live normal lives, doctors said yesterday.

A team of more than 30 participated in the 13-hour operation to separate the sisters at the infant neurosurgery department of Rome’s Policlinico Gemelli hospital on Saturday.

The news comes as surgeons in Dallas yesterday said they were pleased with the recovery of Ahmed and Mohamed Ibrahim, the two-year-old Egyptian twins who were separated over the weekend.

No information about the Italian operation has been released until now at the request of the girls’ parents.

"They are in perfectly good condition. We have not had any real complications," said Concezio Di Rocco, who led the surgical team.

The twin girls, whose names have not been released, were born on 13 June in the Greek port of Thessaloniki. They were joined at the temple, face-to-face, but did not share a brain.

The sisters arrived in Italy last Wednesday, and doctors decided to operate earlier than planned out of concern that one twin might catch an infection from the other. Staff were also concerned because each twin had restricted use of one eye, endangering their vision.

Mr Di Rocco said it would be some time before doctors could evaluate if their sight has been impaired, but said that should not hamper their pursuit of normal lives. "There won’t be problems," said Mr Di Rocco.

The sisters are expected to travel home in three weeks.

Although the doctors in Rome faced similar challenges to the team in Dallas that separated the Egyptian twins - who were also joined at the head - Mr Di Rocco said that risks to the Greek girls were fewer.