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Kenyan mother’s joy as conjoined two-year-old twins are separated – PHOTOS


Caroline Mukiri can now afford a smile after her two-year-old conjoined twins were on Wednesday removed from life support machine, after a successful operation to separate them.

The mother, who spoke to Nairobi News moments after she saw her little girls, Blessing and Favour open their eyes for the first time after separation, thanked the team of 50 specialists who were part of the 23-hour operation at the Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH).

The girls were admitted at the referral hospital a day after birth and have been at the facility for the last two years as planning of the surgery went on.

The mother, Caroline Mukiri.
The mother, Caroline Mukiri.

“At least I can now smile, I thank God and also the team that was in the theater and assured me that God was in control. I relaxed when I saw that they all had great faith in God and when the surgery ended and my girls were separated, I was very happy. Now I am so excited because they have been taken out of the life support machine and are breathing on their own,” Ms Mukiri told Nairobi News.

KNH did not charge the family for both the operation and admission at the hospital since September 5, 2014 (a day after birth) when they were referred from St Theresa Hospital in Meru.

SURGERY

In a press statement, the hospital’s acting CEO Dr Thomas Mutie said the children had been admitted at the Specialized Surgical Pediatric Ward for more than two years to allow development of key organs and also enable them gain appropriate muscles to withstand the surgery.

“Surgery of this nature usually required planning and regular consultation by a multi-disciplinary team of KNH and School of Health Sciences, UoN specialists to exchange ideas on how best to perform the procedure while minimizing the risk of either paralysis or neural damage,” said Dr Mutie.

The doctor added that the children are stable and are receiving specialized care as medics monitor the progress.

“We are confident that they will fully recover and live normal independent lives to adulthood,” concluded Dr Mutie.

The acting CEO thanked the team for conducting what he called the “first ever sarcophagus surgery in Africa” with great dedication.