Conjoined twins in Bihar critically ill

IANS/Patna

Seventeen-year-old conjoined twins Saba and Farah were yesterday admitted to a hospital here in a critical condition for the second time in five days, family sources said.

“After Saba and Farah’s condition deteriorated, they have been admitted to a hospital,” said Mohamed Tamanna, the twins’ only brother. On Saturday, they were admitted to a hospital after Farah’s nose started bleeding.

“Both were discharged on Sunday but again we spotted bleeding from her mouth and consulted doctors of the Patna Medical College and Hospital here.

“The doctors wanted them admitted for constant monitoring,” Tamanna said.

Although the twins, joined at the heads, have distinct brains and are neurologically and psychologically normal, only one of them has kidneys.

The father of the girls, Shakeel Ahmad, said the twins have become weaker in the last few months as their food intake has reduced.

In April, the Supreme Court ordered the Bihar government to grant the twins Rs5,000 per month and take care of their medical expenses along with regular check-ups.

Ahmad said that a few years ago, the ruler of a Gulf country had promised to bear the cost of surgically separating the two sisters. However, after initial consultation at a Delhi Hospital, “everything was forgotten,” he said.

American neurosurgeon Benjamin Carson had earlier travelled to India to study the twins. He had agreed to perform the risky operation with assistance from Indian doctors.