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Separated siamese twins to leave KNH today after eight months stay


The Siamese twins separated at Kenyatta National Hospital will be discharged on Thursday, nearly eight months after the delicate and historic surgery.

Blessing Kathure and Favour Karimi were admitted to the Specialised Surgical Paediatric Ward on September 5, 2014.

VALENTINE’S DAY TREAT

The only other time the girls left the hospital was on February 14 this year, for a Valentine’s Day treat at the Kenya Wildlife Service Animal Orphanage in Nairobi.

A 58-strong team led by paediatric surgeon Fred Kabuni performed the 23-hour operation, a first of its kind in sub-Saharan Africa, at dawn on Tuesday, November 1, 2016, until 5 am the following day.

The two year-old the conjoined twins had been at the referral hospital were meant for them to gain strength and develop sufficient muscles.

METICULOUS PLANNING

It was also to allow for the meticulous planning of how to separate the girls, whose spines and lower back had fused such that, although each had their own gut, they shared the anus and genitals.

A press briefing at the Accident & Emergency today will “highlight the journey of the separated twins and the lessons learnt leading to their successful recovery,” said KNH Communication Manager Simon Ithai.

The twins were born through normal delivery on September 4, 2014 at St Theresa’s Mission Hospital-Kiirua, Meru County. They will have spent nearly 700 days at KNH.