Zimbabwean doctors successfully separate parasitic conjoined twin

Описание: A medical team at the Sally Mugabe Central Hospital in the Zimbabwean capital Harare successfully separated an asymmetrical conjoined twin (also known as a parasitic twin) from a two-year-old boy during a four-hour procedure on Tuesday, March 5, 2024. As per The Herald-Zimbabwe, the boy’s family, who are from Beitbridge, sought treatment at local hospitals, and later Bulawayo Central Hospital before arriving in Harare. Conjoined twins develop from a partially separated embryo, which causes them to be attached at a given part of their bodies. A parasitic twin stops developing while the other twin fully develops. According to Zim Eye, the parasitic twin in Harare had a head, bones, stomach, pancreas, digestive system, and separate gallbladders and was fused to its twin’s liver. The medical team included team leader Dr. Kudzayi Munanzvi, Dr. Precious Mutambanengwe, and anesthesiologist Dr. Brighton Muchini. It took four hours for the medical team to perform the operation on the two-year-old who is recovering in the ward. Munanzvi said the boy is in good spirits and is eating, talking, and playing. The medical team is gearing up for another challenging operation in the coming weeks to be performed by over 100 medical professionals, which is expected to take 36 hours, this time with fully developed conjoined twins. This is not the first time Zimbabwean doctors have successfully separated conjoined twins, however. In 2014, a team of 50 medical professionals successfully separated two-month-old, conjoined boys attached from the chest to the upper abdomen at the Sally Mugabe Central Hospital. In 2021, Zimbabwean pediatric surgeons successfully separated three-month-old, conjoined girls attached at the abdominal-pelvic region at the Sally Mugabe Central Hospital during an 18-hour operation.