One of the Iranian conjoined twins separated during major operation has died, other seriously ill

Haaretz News Ticker ^ | 7/8/2003

[yonif]

10:44 One of the Iranian conjoined twins separated during major operation has died, other seriously ill, hospital says

[yonif]

Sad...

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[JustPiper]

Sorry to read this -so sad-...may the angels know her sister is in spirit with her and may the angels help her survive if it is God's will.

[Bobby777]

I was afraid of this ... it often happens ... I had just read the news online and now saw your post ... so sad and so tragic ... prayers for these girls and their families ...

[Sweet_Sunflower29]

Damn...Am I sorry to hear this.

I heard it on the radio not five minutes ago.

Two brave women, indeed.

[Bobby777]

John 11:35 KJV

Jesus wept.

[yonif]

"Ladan, the more outspoken of the two, died due to a loss of blood as the separation of the twins' brains was coming to a close. "

[Sweet_Sunflower29]

CNN.com reporting now...

One twin dead after separation

[oceanperch]

Thanks for the update. That is sad.
How old were they?
Does anyone know why they chose to be apart after all these years?

I wonder if they knew how intense the surgery would be.
It had been 50yrs since one like it had been tried. I know that much.

[yonif]

They were 29.

More from BBC

Ladan Bijani died and her sister Laleh is in a critical condition, doctors in Singapore said.

Raffles Hospital spokesman Dr Prem Kumar said both had lost a lot of blood during the operation.

"The twins were subsequently in a critical state," he said.

"Doctors attempted to stabilise her but her condition continued to deteriorate. Despite the best efforts of the medical team, Ladan Bijani passed away."

He said Laleh was in critical condition and doctors were still trying to stabilise her.

A team of 28 doctors and 100 medical assistants were involved in the surgery to separate the twins.

The final moment of separation came after 53 hours of the complex and risky operation.

Surgeons had spent some 21 hours cutting the twins' brains apart - something that they had not been expecting to have to do.

As the operation progressed, it became clear that the sisters' brains had fused together after 29 years sharing the same skull cavity and the separation would not be as straight forward as anticipated.

Earlier, medical staff had disclosed the difficulties they were facing in completing the procedure.

"The neurosurgeons have to cut through the brains very carefully, literally millimetre by millimetre," according to hospital spokesman Dr Prem Kumar.

"In the process, we have encountered a lot of blood vessels and a lot of tissue that is taking a long time to separate," Dr Kumar said.

The operation was further complicated because the blood circulation between the twins was unstable.

[Sweet_Sunflower29]

An earlier story:

Conjoined Twins Risk Marathon Surgery to Be Separated

[JustPiper]

From FNC:

One of Conjoined Iranian Twins Dies After Separation

Tuesday, July 08, 2003

SINGAPORE — Ladan Bijani died Tuesday shortly after surgeons separated her from her twin, Laleh, who is in critical condition, a hospital spokesman said.

"Raffles hospital regrets to announce that Ladan Bijani passed away a few minutes ago," Dr. Prem Kumar said.

The sisters were joined at the head.

[hmmmmm]

How unbelievably sad, yet somehow uplifting. If only some of us had the slightest fraction of the courage of these women....

[JustPiper]

Iranian conjoined twins Ladan, left, and Laleh Bijani

[Sweet_Sunflower29]

You'd think FNC could muster more then 55 words, wouldn't you?

[JustPiper]

Earlier thread:

Surgeons Separate Iranian Twins, Both in Critical Condition

[JustPiper]

That was exactly my thought!

[Sweet_Sunflower29]

Didn't even see that other thread, thanks.

[JustPiper]

Surely -g-

[Sweet_Sunflower29]

That was exactly my thought

/grins>

(in the face of more sadness
while thankful to be alive and
granted the gift of
yet another day.)