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| Conjoined Iranian Twins, 29, Face Surgery |
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| Red |
| 07/05/03 at 16:07:34 |
| http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&e=10&u=/ap/20030705/ap_on_re_as/singapore_conjoined_twins Conjoined Iranian Twins, 29, Face Surgery By D'ARCY DORAN, Associated Press Writers SINGAPORE - A pair of 29-year-old Iranian twin sisters, joined at the head, said Saturday their fate was in God's hands as they prepared to walk into a marathon operation that could finally separate them — or could kill one or both of them. After a lifetime of compromises on everything from when to wake up each day to what career to pursue, Ladan and Laleh Bijani said they preferred to face the dangers of the surgery — which could last up to four days — rather than continue living joined. "If God wants us to live the rest of our lives as two separate, independent individuals, we will," Ladan said. Sunday morning, they plan to walk into the operating room at Singapore's Raffles Hospital — rather than be put to sleep beforehand and wheeled in — as a sign of courage. "We've never been as confident as we are now," Ladan said. "We are prepared by all means to embrace the risks and walk into the operation room." The operation will mark the first time surgeons have tried to separate adult craniopagus twins — siblings born joined at the head — since the procedure was first successfully performed in 1952. The surgery has so far only been performed on infants, whose brains can more easily recover. An international team of 28 doctors and about 100 medical assistants will participate in the surgery. Ladan said they would spend the hours before the operation reading the Quran and performing ritual Muslim ablutions. "We feel closer to God that way," she said. Ladan spoke just before doctors conducted four hours of last-minute tests on the sisters to study how blood flows through their brains. The tests revealed a new medical reason for the surgery to proceed, lead neurosurgeon Dr. Keith Goh said. The pressure inside the twins' brains was more than twice what it should be. The discovery led doctors "to believe this is something quite necessary, not cosmetic or frivolous," Goh told a news conference late Saturday. "Rest assured, we're all here to help you. Please stay positive," Dr. Benjamin Carson, one of six international experts assisting in the surgery, told the sisters when he met them on the eve of the operation, according to a hospital statement. The sisters each have a 50-50 chance of survival, said Carson, a Johns Hopkins neurosurgeon from Baltimore. But he said he expected the surgery to be a success. The $288,000 cost of the surgery is being underwritten by Raffles Hospital, and the doctors' fees are being waived. The surgeons were making their own preparations ahead of the long surgery, he said: getting enough sleep and not drinking too much liquid. The surgeons' biggest challenge will be dealing with a shared vein that drains blood from the women's brains. German doctors concluded in 1996 that vein made the surgery too dangerous. One sister will have to have a graft to replace the shared vein, probably a vein taken from a leg, Carson said. He compared the veins to a city's road network and said the task surgeons faced was to identify traffic jams and create detours. The largest vein was the size of a finger, he said. Saturday's tests were aimed at finding alternative blood channels and to see if a bypass was necessary, Nair said. The tests, led by French neuroradiologist Dr. Pierre-Louis Lasjaunias, lasted four hours. The discovery high pressure in their brains explained why Laleh had suffered chronic headaches and meant medical intervention would have eventually been necessary, Goh told reporters, without elaborating. The twins will remain seated throughout the operation — a standard practice in brain surgery — which will last at least 48 hours and could take four days. The Bijani sisters, born in Firouzabad, southern Iran, in 1974, have separate brains that lie next to each other in a joined skull. Their heads are connected but their bodies are otherwise distinct. The twins have wanted to be separated ever since they first opened their eyes, Ladan told a news conference last month. They told reporters they long for simple things such as seeing each other's face. They came to Singapore in November after hearing about Goh's success in separating 18-month-old Nepalese infants who were also joined at the head. Both sisters studied law because Ladan wanted to be a lawyer. But after the surgery, Laleh wants to move to Tehran to be a journalist, while Ladan wants to move back home with her parents and continue her studies to qualify as a lawyer. ___ EDITOR'S NOTE: Ali Akbar Dareini contributed to this report from Tehran, Iran. |
| Re: Conjoined Iranian Twins, 29, Face Surgery |
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| jannah |
| 07/05/03 at 23:41:14 |
| [slm] Just saw a news story about them. Apparently it is very necessary for them to be separated because it is putting pressure on some veins in their brains. They seem so courageous ma'shallah. In the news conference they are both wearing one hijab ma'shallah ;) Pray for them inshaAllah.. |
| Re: Conjoined Iranian Twins, 29, Face Surgery |
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| Ameeraana |
| 07/06/03 at 23:04:50 |
| [slm] Ahhh, I pray their surgery is successful. It is going on right now as we speak. Inshallah Ameera |
| Re: Conjoined Iranian Twins, 29, Face Surgery |
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| WhiteSomali |
| 07/07/03 at 01:14:48 |
| Everyone make sure ya make dua for ya sistaz. May Allah protect them and do what's best for both of them. Ameen. :) [wlm] |
| Re: Conjoined Iranian Twins, 29, Face Surgery |
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| AyeshaZ |
| 07/07/03 at 23:54:20 |
| [quote author=jannah link=board=ummah;num=1057432054;start=0#1 date=07/05/03 at 23:41:14][slm] They seem so courageous ma'shallah. In the news conference they are both wearing one hijab ma'shallah ;) Pray for them inshaAllah..[/quote] subhan'Allah just saw them today!!! subhan'Allah amazing sisters!!!! :-X They sounded so very optimistic, May Allah(swt) make it easy for them. ameen |
| Re: Conjoined Iranian Twins, 29, Face Surgery |
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| Caraj |
| 07/08/03 at 00:47:33 |
| Has anyone heard how this is going? They started yesterday and all was well and one thing took more time than expected but was ok and tonight there was no update. |
| Re: Conjoined Iranian Twins, 29, Face Surgery |
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| faisalsb |
| 07/08/03 at 04:47:20 |
| [slm] :-( Well it's a bad news one of them is already dead and the other one is struggling hard to survive ........... http://edition.cnn.com/2003/HEALTH/07/08/conjoined.twins/index.html One twin dead after separation Tuesday, July 8, 2003 Posted: 0818 GMT ( 4:18 PM HKT) After 29 years stuck together, the twins were willing to accept the risks of surgery for the chance of separate lives. (CNN) -- One of the conjoined adult Iranian twins separated after unprecedented surgery has died, according to officials at Singapore's Raffles Hospital. Ladan Bijani, the more outspoken of the two, died due to a severe loss of blood as the separation of the twins' brains was coming to a close. Doctors are working to stabilize her sister Laleh, who is still critical from the risky operation. Neither twin was believed to be at a greater risk ahead of surgery. There were tears at the hospital in Singapore as spokesman Dr. Prem Kumar Nair made the announcement. The twins made a big impression around the world with their display of courage and bravery going into the dangerous operation. Doctors at one point tried to talk the them out of the operation, but the 29-year-old sisters, both law graduates, said they were willing to accept the risks and face those dangers to lead separate lives. Earlier Tuesday, neurosurgeons carefully teased apart packed brain tissue millimeter by millimeter in a delicate and risky procedure on the third day of the operation. Surgery to separate the twins, who were joined only at the head, began on Sunday and doctors had to battle against unstable blood pressure levels as they slowly split apart the fused brains. The complicated process of paring apart the twins' brains began late Monday and separating them was one of the most challenging parts of the surgery, dubbed "Operation Hope." Prior to separating the brains, surgeons completed the process of rerouting a large vein that serves both their brains. An international team of neurosurgeons, dozens of doctors, plus support staff created a bypass for Ladan, using a vein grafted from her leg. This caused another complication, Kumar said, as blood circulation between the twins became unstable. More hurdles ahead The operation is a landmark procedure. Although Singapore doctors performed a similar operation in 2001 on infant Nepalese girls, surgery on adult twins is unprecedented. The operation is more difficult in adults than in children, who have more recuperative powers. The marathon operation began in Singapore on Sunday. Twins joined at the head are the rarest of conjoined twins, occurring one in every 2 million births. Twins joined elsewhere occur once in every 100,000 births. The Bijanis' operation was considered elective because the women likely would live a normal life span without it. However, testing showed the sisters had high intracranial pressure, which, if untreated, could cause frequent debilitating migraines and impaired vision as well as deteriorating brain function, the hospital said. The sisters made an impression on Singapore's public, in part because of their cheerful demeanor before the operation. Cards, flowers, and offers of support were sent to the hospital from around the world. The hospital paid for pre-operative fees and the medical costs involved in operation. The operating surgeons waived their professional fees. The government of Iran said Monday it will pay $300,000 for post-operative care. -- CNN Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta and Journalist Michael Dwyer contributed to this report. |
| 07/08/03 at 04:51:08 |
| faisalsb |
| Re: Conjoined Iranian Twins, 29, Face Surgery |
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| Halima |
| 07/08/03 at 05:14:01 |
| Inalillahi Wainalillahi Rajiuun! This is heart breaking. They were so healthy and radiant. And Ladan's words of courage are so poicnant. May Allah rest her in Jannatul Firdowsa and May Laleh pool through, Ameen. |
| Innalillah wa inna ilaihi rajiun |
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| Barr |
| 07/08/03 at 06:25:32 |
| May Allah bless their souls, and forgive their sins, and give them the best in paradise. Ameen. http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/latest/story/0,4390,198679,00.html? Both Iranian twins die after separation op SINGAPORE -- Iranian conjoined twins Ladan and Laleh Bijani have both died on Tuesday after a historic operation to separate them, CNN reported. Ladan Bijani (left) died shortly after the operation from severe loss of blood. Laleh died a few hours later. -- FILE PICTURE Ladan was the first to die from severe loss of blood after the separation was completed. Laleh had also lost a lot of blood, and doctors were concentrating their efforts on stabilising her. There was an outpouring of grief when the news was announced to well-wishers keeping vigil at the hospital, CNN said. Raffles Hospital spokesman Prem Kumar Nair had earlier in the afternoon announced that the women were in a critical condition. The team of doctors had to contend with unstable pressure levels inside the twins' brains just before they uncoupled the brains and cut through the last bit of skull joining them. The process was slow and tedious as their brains have been fused tightly together for the last 29 years. Their brains had to be pried apart millimeter by millimeter through the many hours of the surgery. The twins had made a big impression around the world with their gutsy display of courage. Doctors at one point tried to talk them out of the operation, but the 29-year-old sisters, both law graduates, said they were willing to accept the risks and face those dangers to lead separate lives. The team of Singapore doctors, backed up by a group of specialists from abroad, performed a similar operation in 2001 on a pair of infant Nepalese girls. But surgery on conjoined adult twins is unprecedented. |
| Re: Conjoined Iranian Twins, 29, Face Surgery |
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| Halima |
| 07/08/03 at 07:43:03 |
| This is very sad and very painfull. Ya rabi. I can't stop crying as if I had known them all my life, yet we (my family and I) have seen through TV only and following the story of their impending surgery. Ya Allah, in grief, we sometimes forget that you are the Almighty, the Merciful and the all knowing. Ya Rahman, rest their souls in Jannatul Firdowsa and may we all learn from their courage. Ya Allah shower you mercy on their family through this difficult time, Ameen |
| Re: Conjoined Iranian Twins, 29, Face Surgery |
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| WhiteSomali |
| 07/08/03 at 13:53:43 |
| May Allah have mercy on both Ladan and Laleh, may He shower them with his mercy and let them smell the sweet fragrance of paradise. May their good deeds greet them in their graves. May He help their family through this difficult time. Ameen. Allah subanahu wa ta'ala knows best... |
| Re: Conjoined Iranian Twins, 29, Face Surgery |
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| jannah |
| 07/08/03 at 14:07:01 |
| [wlm] Very sad news.. Inna lillah wa inna ilaihi rajeoon From Allah we come and to Him we return |
| Re: Conjoined Iranian Twins, 29, Face Surgery |
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| readagain |
| 07/08/03 at 14:37:39 |
| [slm] mannn i just heard the news..soo sad..Innalillahe wa inna elaih e raa jioon :( |
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