Centurion paediatric surgeons yesterday successfully separated Swaziland twin girls, who were born conjoined at the abdomen, achieving a first for the Netcare Unitas Hospital.
Born to Bongekile Simelane and her husband, Mbongeni Shilongonyane, Uwenzile and Uyihlelile were delivered on January 2 weighing a combined 4.21kg.
The pair underwent a six-hour operation conducted by Dr Mariza de Villiers and Dr Paul Stevens, the second such operation for the doctors, who described yesterday's procedure as having been "simpler" because the pair were conjoined by a bridge of skin and did not share vital organs.
Simelane, who has another set of two-year-old twin boys, said: "At first I was not happy to hear that I was expecting twins for the second time.
"However, once they were born everything changed. After their birth I was at first not worried as I thought the babies were only attached at the umbilical cord."
Simelane was nervous when the twins were taken into theatre.
De Villiers said the twins would lead healthy lives because they did not share vital organs, such as a heart.
"The fact that there was a skin bridge between them meant that there was sufficient skin to close the resultant surgical wound on each baby without the need for plastic surgery."
The conjoined twins had faced each other, which meant the surgery was "complicated as they were not able to be placed on their backs to be intubated for anaesthesia".
It took four anaesthetists more than three hours to get the anaesthetic right before the doctors could proceed with the operation.
The separation started yesterday and was concluded just after 2pm.
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