WATCH | Nigerian conjoined twins separated in gruelling 13-hour operation

15 January 2020 - 16:56 By Rethabile Radebe
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Twins Mercy and Goodness Martins were born conjoined but have since been separated.
Twins Mercy and Goodness Martins were born conjoined but have since been separated.
Image: Via Twitter/BBC Africa News

At least 78 medical practitioners were involved in a 13-hour surgical procedure to separate Nigerian twin girls Goodness and Mercy Martins.

The twins were joined from the chest and abdomen and shared a liver and diaphragm, reported United Press International.

The operation took place in November at the National Hospital in Nigeria's capital Abuja.

Mercy and Goodness were born by Caesarean section in August 2018, with a large blood vessel connecting their hearts through their chest walls.

BBC News Africa reported that the mother of the twins, Maria Onya Martins, shared her experience of waiting for her infant twins to come out of surgery.

She also shared how she had never heard of conjoined twins and thought she was cursed and less of a woman.

Martins added that when doctors explained the condition of Mercy and Goodness in medical terms, she felt better.

The operation is said to have cost $55,000 (R790,000) but the hospital did it for free as the Martins family could not afford the bill.

"My husband, my entire family, we are very relieved... We could not get or make up that money. Very relieved, very happy," she added.


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