For Grace, the mother of Tanzanian pygopagus twins Ericana and Eluidi, their first birthday here today would be memorable, for its been two months since the two were successfully separated at a private hospital here.
The fifth pygopagus twin in the world and the first to be separated in India, Ericana and Eluidi underwent surgery at Apollo Speciality Hospitals here at Vanagaram on December 16 last year, where they have been recovering.
The twins were three months, when Grace came to Chennai from her native Kasumulu in Western Tanzania for the treatment of her babies.
Her nine month stay in Chennai turned fruitful on December 16 last year, after a team of 20 doctors successfully separated the twins after an 18-hour long surgery.
"The twins saw each other for the first time only three weeks after surgery. It was great to see the twins explore each other - Eluidi took Ericana's fingers and playfully lapped them. Both the twins are boisterous and immensely curious about the environment," Dr Sripathi, one of the team of doctors looking after the twins, said.
Conjoined twins are reported in one in 2,00,000 deliveries. While over 60 per cent of them are stillborn, 35 per cent of the remaining die within a few days or months of birth due to various causes.
Conjoined twins can be joined at the chest, abdomen, back, buttock and head. Fusion at the buttocks (Pygopagus) is very rare and accounts for less than 17 per cent of all conjoined twins.
