Iranian twin sisters joined at the head faced a second night of life-threatening surgery tonight as Singapore doctors expressed cautious optimism the operation to separate them was going well.
|
|
Ladan (L) and Laleh Bijani, conjoined twins from Iran.
|
The second stage of the craniotomy, or opening up the combined skulls of the 29-year old twins, Laleh and Ladan Bijani, involves severing blood vessels and veins around the women's two brains and may take the team of five neurosurgeons up to 10 hours to complete.
The twins' operation has drawn worldwide media attention. Today, Iranian President Mohammad Khatami pledged to cover the cost of the operation, Iran's ambassador said.
"His excellency President Khatami has decided to cover the whole expense of the medical operation and in consultation with the doctors, here, I hear that it's roughly around US$300,000," Shaban Shahidi Moadaab told reporters at the hospital.
He had flown to Singapore from Iran's closest embassy, in Jakarta.
Asked for an update on the progress of the surgery, he said: "It's such a complicated medical operation. Although we hope that everything will be successful, we should also be prepared for the non-predictable things that I hope will not happen."
The first stage of the operation took longer than expected because the bone where the twins are joined was thick and compact.
Doctors said the twins were stable and the operation was proceeding well after the surgeons removed a strip of bone from the front of the skull to the back to expose the brains.
"Up till now, the twins have taken to the procedure quite well. They are stable," said Dr Prem Kumar Nair, a spokesman for Raffles Hospital, where the operation is under way.
Scores of family and friends were anxiously awaiting the outcome of the dangerous surgery, including the twins' elderly parents in Iran and friends in Singapore.
Supporters have been holding a prayer vigil at the hospital since surgery began around midday (3 p.m. Irish time) yesterday.
