COLOMBIA: Doctors in Bogota, attempting to separate conjoined twins Sofia and Mariana Rodriguez had to suspend surgery after completing 70 per cent of the procedure

Doctors in Bogota, Colombia attempting to separate conjoined twins Sofia and Mariana Rodriguez had to suspend surgery on Tuesday (January 16) after completing 70 per cent of the procedure. The twins, born in Medellin on September 19, are connected at the head and share neurological integrity, a circumstance that makes the surgery risky. Brain surgeon Tito Perilla from the University of Antioquia said that after a 14-hour procedure the girls needed time to recover. "70 percent of the separation has been completed. Two medical reasons made us decide not to continue with the remaining 30 percent, that is, the back part of their heads. The first reason is duration, it was a really long surgery for such little babies and their body temperature was starting to affect their organisms. Secondly, from a surgical point of view, we encountered many difficulties in carrying on with what we had planned," Perilla said. Perilla said that separation will only resume when the twins' condition allows. "That's why we decided to suspend the operation and wait until the girls are again ready for surgery," he told reporters. Perilla said that although the twins' brains are touching, they both have independently formed brains. The medical team's goal was not only to separate the twins, but keep them both alive and avoid any neurological damage. To tackle the task, organisers have united a group of 60 medical professionals that include neurosurgeons from different parts of the world. According to officials working on the project, the team counts on top experts in the field who have worked on similar cases in other parts of the world. The twins were taken to Bogota so the group of doctors and surgeons could do preliminary studies and get to know them both. The birth weight of the children was 7.7 pounds each and they needed to exceed 13 pounds in order to go forward with the operation. The collective weight of the children is now nearly 29 pounds. Of the 39 similar surgeries, in only one case have both of the conjoined twins survived and surviving children often suffer from mental deficits. In nearly 50 percent of the operations both of the twins have died. In the case of the Rodriguez twins where the two share important parts of the nervous system, doctors have designed special implements to separate and support the heads with minimal damage. During the surgery, the team will be in contact with doctors from John Hopkins University and the University of Juarez, in Mexico, an institution that sent expert Dr. Antonio Carmona to Bogota to assist in the operation. Julian Rodriguez, father of the twins, said his family was encouraged to go through with the surgery after speaking with doctors. Rodriguez told journalists he nervous about the surgery, but had faith in the ability of the doctors. In order to perform the surgery, the Rodriguez family asked for financial help and moved to Bogota in October where they will stay at least six months after the operation. latam/jrc

ITN Source | January 17, 2007

Tags:. .institution. .goal. .suffer. .mexico. .forward