DMCH starts surgery to separate conjoined twins Tofa, Tohura

Doctors at Dhaka Medical College Hospital or DMCH have begun the surgery to separate the 10-month-old conjoined twins Tofa and Tohura.

The surgical operation began on the third floor around 8am on Tuesday, said hospital director Md Mizanur Rahman.

“There are risks, but we are hopeful. Tofa is stronger and more active than Tohura. We are hoping they will recover after the surgery.”

About 30 doctors of different departments in two groups will participate in the lengthy surgery. The twins are currently sedated.

With the first phase of the surgery for separating the babies over, another team of doctors will start the second phase. The whole operation will take about seven to eight hours. 

Tofa and Tohura are conjoined along their spinal columns. They were born on Sept 29, 2016 in Gaibandha’s Sundarganj Upazila. Their parents are farmer Raju Mia and Shahida Begum.

Their condition is called pygopagus, where two individuals are joined at the buttocks, most often back to back, said Shahnoor Islam, associate professor at the Paediatric Surgery Department of DMCH.

On the eighth day of their birth, Tofa and Tohura were brought to DMCH for treatment. The doctors have treated anal and rectal problems of the infants, said their father Raju Mia.

Shahida, the mother of the conjoined twins, sought everyone’s blessings in a press conference at the hospital on Monday.