Conjoined twins less than a year old have been separated by U.K. and Turkish surgeons in a marathon 14-hour surgery and are expected to make a full recovery.
Minal and Mirha, 11-month-old girls from Pakistan, were born fused at the head, sharing several vital blood vessels. Now, following a two-stage procedure involving 60 medical professionals, the twins will get to celebrate their first birthday separately.
Mirha and Minal, Pakistani twins born conjoined at the head, are seen before their surgery.
Turkish Health Ministry/Anadolu via Getty Images
According to The Sunday Times, the operation was arranged by a charity called Gemini Untwined, which specializes in treating and researching craniopagus twins — children born with fused skulls, intertwined brains, and shared blood vessels. The founder of the charity, British paediatric neurosurgeon Dr. Owase Jeelani, led the operation that successfully separated Minal and Mirha.
The procedure consisted of two surgeries: the first to expand the distance between two girls’ heads, and the second to completely separate them. Before the operation, surgeons used virtual reality goggles to rehearse the precise movements, using 3D scans of the twins’ conjoined skulls.
Both stages of the operation took place in the Turkish capital of Ankara at Bilkent City Hospital, with Dr. Jeelani being assisted by Turkish physicians Dr. Harun Demirci and Dr. Hasan Murat Ergani, according to the Anadolu news agency.
Mother Nazia Parveen takes care of Mirha and Minal during their healing process after surgery at Bilkent City Hospital in Ankara, Turkey on Sept. 6.
Omer Taha Cetin/Anadolu via Getty Images
Dr. Ergani, a reconstructive physician, said that the first surgery done on the twins was a “balloon tissue expansion surgery.”
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“We placed a material in their heads that gradually expanded, increasing the tissue over about two months,” he told Anadolu. The reason for this was because doctors worried there wouldn’t be enough tissue to close up the girls’ surgical wounds post-separation.
“When we separated the babies, the tissue to cover the brain was crucial because their brains would be exposed. Any complication could harm the children, so we planned very carefully,” he added.
On July 19, the final surgery took place to decisively separate the conjoined twins.
Mirha and Minal, Pakistani twins born conjoined at the head, are seen during their healing process after surgery at Bilkent City Hospital in Ankara, Turkey, on Sept. 6.
Omer Taha Cetin/Anadolu via Getty Images
“When we successfully separated them, the entire medical team looked at each other and applauded. It was one of the most memorable moments of my life,” Dr. Ergani said. “Seeing the babies healthy now is an incredible joy.”
The girls are expected to make a full recovery and their parents, Rehan Ali and Nazia Parveen, expressed their deep gratitude to everyone involved in their children’s treatment.
“We are very happy and indebted to everyone who contributed,” Ali said.
Father Rehan Ali and mother Nazia Parveen take care of Mirha and Minal, Pakistani twins born conjoined at the head, during their healing process after surgery at Bilkent City Hospital in Ankara, Turkey, on Sept. 6.
Omer Taha Cetin/Anadolu via Getty Images
One of the lead neurosurgeons, Dr. Demirci, told Anadolu that the twins initially struggled with being separated, after being conjoined their entire life.
“They were uncomfortable, so we kept them together in the same room and bed for a while. Eventually, they adapted, and their health is now very good. We expect to discharge them in two to three weeks and will monitor their brain and bone development every three months,” he said.
Dr. Jeelani says this is the eighth surgical separation that Gemini Untwined has performed on craniopagus twins, and that each surgery helps the charity “refine our thinking, our techniques and technology, leading to better and better results.”
Speaking of Minal and Mirha, Dr. Jeelani praised the global collaboration that went into their treatment.
“This was truly a global effort, with twins from Pakistan being separated in Turkey with expertise and support of a U.K.-based team with professionals from seven different countries,” he told the Times.
To Anadolu, Dr. Jeelani said: “This is about how the world should be, when you have children that need help, the whole world comes together, the whole world supports and you get this result for these children.”
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