Hoang Truc Nhi and Hoang Dieu Nhi were born prematurely on June 7 last year at the Hung Vuong Hospital in the city. The two girls were joined at the pelvis. After birth, they were transferred to the HCMC Children’s Hospital to be raised and monitored.

The twins were classified as a pair of Ischiopagus Tetrapus (Quadripus) conjoined twins, which means they have a symmetrical continuous longitudinal axis with their area of union not broken anteriorly, according to doctors.

If a pair of conjoined twins is born for every 200,000 births, only 6 percent of such cases are classified as Ischiopagus Tetrapus, doctors said.

Truc Nhi and Dieu Nhi shared parts of their ileums and colons, and a single anus. They also had two separate bladders on two sides of their belly. Two ureters led to the two bladders. Their pelvis was arranged similar to a circle, doctors said.

Over the past year, the twins had learned to sit up and coordinate with each other to move around despite their condition. Their parents, doctors and therapists all took great care of them daily, attending to their every need, from feeding them to changing diapers.

The separation

Doctors and nurses at the HCMC Children's Hospital celebrate after separating
the two girls on July 15, 2020. Photo by VnExpress/Huu Khoa.

Two weeks before the surgery, the pair was administered antibiotics to prevent possible infections. The twins were deemed ready for the surgery after reaching 13 months, weighing 15 kg and having health statistics close enough to that of a normal child.

The surgery started at 6 a.m. Wednesday at the HCMC Children's Hospital, and was expected to last for around 12 hours. Around 93 doctors, nurses and medical experts from several HCMC hospitals, including Tran Dong A, a doctor renowned for successfully separating a pair of conjoined twins back in 1988, were on hand. Doctors said similar surgeries have a survival rate of around 74 percent.

The twins’ mother accompanied them all the way to the operation theater before parting ways and waiting outside with the father.

"I just want both my girls to be safe and healthy enough to go through the surgery successfully. Whatever the future might hold, I’ll think about later," the 25-year-old woman said.

The surgery went as planned. The surgeons managed to separate the two girls at around 2:10 p.m.

Truc Nhi was then taken to another operation theater, while Dieu Nhi stayed on in the original. The two will undergo more surgical procedures to give them functional organs and body parts.

"All of their defects were as we had anticipated before the surgery. Their vitals have been completely stable up until now," said a doctor.

The surgery ended successfully at around 6:40 p.m. Wednesday. The two girls were then transferred to a care unit in the HCMC Children's Hospital to be monitored.