The conjoined twins who were operated on two days ago will be discharged from the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) ward. This is according to Dr. Mutia who is part of the team that operated on Blessing and Favour on 1st November in an operation that lasted 23hrs. The surgery that took two years to prepare is estimated to have a running cost of Kshs. 160 million. A cost that was covered by the government, well-wishers and the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF). The high cost was as a result of the specialized equipment that was needed for the operation, tissue expanders and investigation.
Caroline Mukiri, the mother of the conjoined twins said it has been a long two year period of suffering but was more than glad that her twins are now out of danger. She also had some advice for the rest of the country. “At some point, I wasn’t sure whether or not the doctors were fit enough to handle such a complex surgery which was a matter of life and death but eventually I put my trust in them and I hope that we all learn to have trust in our doctors. They are experts.”
Her sentiment was echoed by Prof. Julius Kyambi who was also part of the team. He said, “As a country, we have competent doctors and surgeons who can handle such cases that are of great magnitude. We hope in the coming years, more and more doctors and surgeons will further their education abroad and come back with the knowledge they have learned to perfect our medical sector.”
In a statement that was sent to newsrooms yesterday, the president congratulated the team of surgeons for the successful surgery. The surgery was the most complex procedure to be done successfully in sub-Saharan Africa apart from South Africa.
The complicated procedure involved a team of 58 professionals for it to be successful as it was highly delicate. According to Dr.Hamdun Said, the twins are currently out of danger and under observation but they will require medical attention and reconstructive surgery of the shared organs that were separated during the surgery.
The twins were born through normal delivery and it was then realized they were conjoined.