APA – N’Djamena (Chad) – Two Siamese twins were separated last weekend at the Centre Hospitalier de la Mère et de l’Enfant in N’Djamena.
The operation, described as a success by the Ministry of Health, was carried out by four surgeons: Dr Mahamat Nour Abakar, Dr Olivier Ngaringuem, Dr Bembo Lamega and Dr Djianone Kalki, assisted by two anaesthetists, Dr Adjougoulta Bonté and Dr Gombako Amilcar.
They were supported by anaesthetic technicians, operating theatre staff and the paediatric team.
This is the first successful operation of its kind in Chad.
One of the surgeons, Dr. Olivier Ngaringuem, explained that a CT scan had been carried out prior to the operation.
”This enabled us to conclude that the lives of these newborns would not be in danger in the event of separation”.
For, he says, these twins are true Siamese twins, so each has its own autonomy.
“In the past, we’ve had five cases of fake Siamese twins being separated. But in this case, one of them dies, because one depends on the other,” he explained.
The operation, which lasted less than two hours, began at 9.27am and ended at 11.30am.
One stopped breathing…
Under observation, the twins showed no complications, according to Dr Olivier Ngariguem.
Except “when we separated them, one stopped breathing. But as soon as we put her in contact with the other, she started breathing again. It’s not a big deal,” he said.
To salute this achievement, the Minister of Public Health and Prevention, Dr Abdelmadjid Abderahim, came to the hospital to congratulate and encourage the team on this “unprecedented feat,” and urged them to persevere to achieve more.
A ‘great feat’
On his Facebook page, caretaker leader Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno also expressed the “gratitude of the entire nation” to the team of surgeons who achieved this “great feat.”
It was also an opportunity for him to reaffirm his determination “to invest in improving the capacities of the services in charge of maternal and child health.”
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