Bangladeshi Conjoined Twins Home After Separation

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent reporting from Budapest, Hungary

(Worthy News) – Two Bangladeshi girls who were born conjoined at the head returned to their hometown after they were successfully separated by a team of Hungarian doctors in 2019, officials confirmed.

The Foundation for Defenceless People said

Rabeya and Rokaiya arrived home nearly two years after their separation in August 2019. They had reportedly lived with their parents and sister for 18 months at the Dhaka Central Military Hospital.

Rokaiya and Rabeya were separated in a 33-hour operation organized by the Foundation for Defenceless People in Dhaka. The operation in the Bangladeshi capital was the third step of a series of procedures dubbed “Operation Freedom,” organizers said.

The first phase, including groundbreaking work to separate the brains’ blood flow, was done by Hungarian doctors in Bangladesh in August 2018, Hungarian media reported. It was followed by what doctors called “preparatory surgery” to separate the twins was performed in Hungary in January 2019.

The main marathon operation in Dhaka in August was carried out by a team of 35 Hungarian doctors and assistants led by neurosurgeon András Csókay from Budapest’s military Honvéd Hospital.

However, soon after, Rabeya underwent a five-hour skull reconstruction operation and cosmetic surgery. Rokaiya, however, suffered brain bleeding 33 days after the separation and was in a severe condition. But later, she was released from intensive care and taken to a special ward to be with Rabeya.

The operation came as a public relations boost for the government of Hungary where health care has suffered under years of braindrain and underfunding.

Hungarian President János Áder said the operation underscored that there remains hope for talented Hungarian health specialists worldwide. “All Hungarian citizens can be proud of you, your knowledge, and humanity,” the president told the doctors.

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