Separated conjoined twins recuperating in Delhi

Sita and Geeta, conjoined twins separated after a 14-hour long rare and difficult surgery, were recuperating in a Delhi hospital where the procedure was conducted, doctors said on Wednesday.

Sita and Geeta, conjoined twins separated after a 14-hour long rare and difficult surgery, were recuperating in a Delhi hospital where the procedure was conducted, doctors said on Wednesday.

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"The children are put under observation in the pediatric intensive care for close monitoring and care. The surgery could be a revolutionary path breaker for high-end specialised surgical procedures in children," said Sanjeev Bagai, a senior doctor and chief executive of the Batra Hospital where the surgery was conducted.

A team of 27 doctors separated 18-month-old Siamese twins Sita and Geeta from Bihar after the marathon daylong surgery on Monday.

The twins were born with congenital abnormalities of being joined at the waist, hip and legs and had a common genito-urinary and intestinal system.

Siamese twins are extremely rare and very few reach the surgery stage. The long-term success of separation surgeries in many international centres is less than 50 percent.

"This attempt emphasises that Indian doctors are superior both in technology and efficiency to many of their counterparts abroad," Bagai said.

The twins' parents are labourers.

"The kids will have to stay in the hospital up to four weeks," he said.