In a first-ever successful attempt by any doctor in the world, a Bangalore hospital, Narayana Health City, witnessed the region’s first thoracopagus separation surgery on Siamese twins. Conjoined twins with joined heart become the third in the world probably, to have been miraculously saved through Thoracopagus twins separation surgery.
Born in Mauritius to an lan Papillon and wife, Baby Papillon was one of the thoracopagus twins who had a shared heart with her sister instead of being joined from the neck to the upper abdomen, as in other similar cases. Hence, they had seven chambers together instead of four in each.
The complexity of the case made many European and Asian hospitals to turn down the case when reached out by the Mauritian health department. It was then that Narayana Health City stepped in to take the challenge, given their vast experience in handling complex pediatric cases.
Taking the parents consent on being able to save only one baby, due to survival chances being bleak, the multi-disciplinary team under Dr. Ashley D’Cruz, Director and Sr Consultant Pediatric Surgeon and Urologist, Dr Sanjay Rao, Sr consultant – Paediatric Surgery and Organ Transplant, Dr Shreesha Shankar Maiya, Consultant – Paediatric Cardiology and electrophysiology, Dr Riyan Shetty, Consultant Critical Care Services and Head of Extracorporeal Life Support, Dr Ganesh Sambandamoorthy, Consultant – Anaesthesia and Critical Care and Dr Harini Sreedharan, Consultant Neonatology, started the surgery with the intensive care team ensuring that the babies were stabilized before PDA stenting was performed to improve the condition of the heart.
After separating the babies, healthier baby’s torso was reconstructed using the tissues of the sacrificed one. Responding well henceforth and in a position to return to her homeland, Baby Papillon will be airlifted on Friday to Mauritius.
In an interview with a leading news agency, lan Papillon, said, “We have at least one of our daughters with us only because of the doctors at Narayana Health and I am extremely thankful to them for that. We are also grateful to our government for funding my children’s visit and their treatment. While I am taking back one daughter, however for me she is mirroring for her sister as one.”
