Singapore hospital to separate Nepalese twins

November 9, 2000
Web posted at: 12:24 PM HKT (0424 GMT)

SINGAPORE (Reuters) -- Surgeons in Singapore face the daunting and delicate task of trying to separate Siamese twins from Nepal who are joined at the head.

The six-month-old girls arrived in the city state with their parents and grandfather about a month ago for the complicated procedure that will be led by a leading paediatric neurosurgeon.

A spokeswoman for Singapore General Hospital declined to discuss any details about the condition of the twins or when the operation would be carried out.

"We can only confirm that we have these twins at the hospital," she told Reuters on Thursday. "They are from Nepal."

Conjoined twins -- the proper name for Siamese twins -- occur once every 50,000 to 100,000 births when a fertilised egg does not divide completely to form separate babies.

Twins joined at the head are among the rarest of cases.

The Straits Times reported on Thursday that the neurosurgeon in charge of the case in Nepal picked Singapore General Hospital over several U.S. medical centres because it had previously carried out complicated operations on Nepalese patients.

Singapore's Gurkha community, which is giving support to the family, was another key factor in the decision, the paper said.

In Britain, doctors separated three-month-old twin girls from Malta this week in a controversial operation that killed one to allow the other the chance to live.

St Mary's Hospital in Manchester said on Wednesday the stronger twin, Jodie, was making progress after the marathon procedure that ended the life of her dependent sister, Mary.

The girls, joined at the abdomen and with a fused spine, were given false names to protect their identities.

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