Conjoined twin boys born in January to a 29-year-old mother at Mankweng Tertiary Hospital are set to undergo separation surgery on Tuesday, in what will be an historic first for the Limpopo department of health.
Dr Precious Moraswi, a training specialist who will be part of the medical team involved in the separation, told Sowetan this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for her as a doctor in the paediatric surgery department for the past six years.
“Before these twin boys, there was only one case. Unfortunately, those twins did not survive for more than 48 hours. Their deformity was not conducive to life. Conjoined twins are a very rare situation in the world — it’s like one in 50,000 live births.”
Moraswi said she is excited and nervous at the same time. “I can’t believe I am part of this, it’s so big, and I’m just a registrar (specialist in training). I am part of it for learning purposes.
“This has to be the biggest learning opportunity so far. I am optimistic. We really planned well for this. We are fully prepared; nothing can surprise us. We have investigated the twins well and are happy with what we are going with. We acknowledge it’s complexity as the boys share a liver, intestines, and some vessels. It’s going to be a long surgery.”
If successful, the Limpopo operation will mark a significant milestone for the province’s healthcare system and add to only a small number of highly complex conjoined twin separation surgeries performed in SA.
SA has recorded several successful conjoined twin separation surgeries since 1986, performed at major hospitals such as Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital, Arwyp Medical Centre and Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital.
Among the earliest cases were twins Mpho and Mphonyana Mathibela, who were joined at the head − a rare condition known as craniopagus. The twins were successfully separated in a complex neurosurgical procedure in 1986. One of the twins died about a year later, while the other survived but experienced complications, dying in 2021 at the age of 34.
Other notable separations include twins Zinzi and Zanele Kona and Danielle and Danika Lowton, also joined at the head. Recently, Siphosethu and Amahle Tyhalisi, who were also joined at the head, were successfully separated in Cape Town.
Sowetan
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