ABBOTABAD:
A woman gave birth on Saturday to conjoined twins sharing a single heart in the gynaecology ward of the Ayub Medical Complex (AMC).
Asma, wife of Muhammad Ali from Alai tehsil, Battagram district, was admitted to the hospital with severe labour pains on Friday evening, hospital sources told The Express Tribune. A caesarean section was carried out by gynaecologist Dr Aqila on Saturday, they added.
Doctors and paramedical staff at AMC’s gynaecology operation theatre A said Asma, who has no child from the previous two years of her marriage, gave birth to twin girls sharing the same heart.
The twins’ other vital organs are all separate, Dr Prof Aziz un Nisa, the head of the gynaecology ward, told reporters. She added that the babies are in good health and have been admitted to the hospital’s nursery.
Dr Muhammad Ayub, former principal of Ayub Medical College in Abbottabad, meanwhile, appeared sceptical about the girl’s chances of survival and voiced concern regarding the social stigma conjoined twins generally faced in Pakistani society.
The twins’ father, however, said he wished to see his daughters living healthy lives in separate bodies like other children. He added that since he was a daily wage earner and possessed no property, he was seeking aid from philanthropists and the government to finance the procedure to separate the girls.
Regarding the possibility of separating the conjoined girls, Dr Aziz un Nisa told reporters that AMC had no facility to carry out the sophisticated procedure and the girls will have to be taken to Karachi or Lahore for the surgery.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 13th, 2012.
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Very unfortunate but most of these cases seem to be coming from rural areas. In my non-expert opinion, genetics is playing a role, probably due to inter-cousin marriages etc.
It is very sad to hear such stories of babies with such severe birth defects. I hope the babies and be separated and will be able to live a normal life.