Conjoined Sisters Go Home After Successful Operation
On September 5, 2011, the girls were separated after six hours of surgery at Shanghai Children’s Medical Center, assisted by a medical team trained by Project HOPE. On September 29, the babies were discharged from the hospital.
Happily Discharged
Twins An An and Xin Xin were born in April of 2011 in China, joined at the breast and abdomen. On September 5, 2011, the girls were finally separated after six hours of surgery at Shanghai Children’s Medical Center, assisted by a medical team trained by Project HOPE. (Read the story of their surgery here.)
The sisters were discharged from Shanghai Children’s Medical Center on September 29, 2011.
Dr. Chen Qimin, from Shanghai Children’s Medical Center says, “During the past four months, we’ve worked out many plans for the various situations that could happen during surgery. The preparation was comprehensive, so we were confident about the operation. The surgery went very well, as planned.”
The twins were born with a combined weight of nearly five kilograms. During the past four months, their weight gain made it an ideal time for the operation.
However, even after the success of the surgery, the little sisters will have new challenges to face. Doctor Chen says the girls also went through reshaping and remodeling of their breast bones with titanium-alloy plates. During their recovery, the girls could suffer from pneumonia, malnutrition and other possible diseases, however the hospital is well prepared and keeping a close watch over the sisters.
Xu Zheming, the Pediatrics Director at Shanghai Children’s Medical Center, says, “We’re working closely with doctors from different departments and specialties such as infection, respiratory and nutrition to help them through any difficulties.”
The overjoyed parents say, “We worried for more than five months, and did not expect our daughters to be discharged so soon. We are thankful for the efforts of the healthcare staff!”