Conjoined (Siamese) Twins From Bangladesh Still In Surgery In Australia After 24 Hours

Surgery to separate infant twin girls continues in Australia even though doctor's have already worked for 24 hours.  Trishna and Krishna,  who are two years old, share parts of their skulls, brain tissue and blood supply.

The surgical team caring for the girls includes 16 surgeons, in addition to the anesthesia providers, nurses, surgical technologists and other support staff.  Reports indicate that the girls are stable, and their condition is actually improving as the surgery proceeds.  The greater the degree of separation, the better the girls seem to do in terms of blood pressure, urine output and other key indicators of health.

Once the brain tissue has been separated, the operation will be complete and the girls will be given bone grafts to reform their skulls. While the predictions of the surgeons are not exactly encouraging, with a 25% that one girl will die and a 50% chance that one or both will be brain damaged, doctors remain cautiously optimistic.

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