Dr Paras Kothari, head of the paediatric department at Sion hospital, under whose care the twins were admitted, said, "The mother wanted to take the babies home. We tried counselling her but finally gave up."
The Sion hospital has discharged the rare conjoined twins, born with two heads and one heart on June 27, after their parents denied consent for an operation and insisted on taking them home. Born by caesarean section, the babies have two stomachs, two spinal cords, spinal column till an under-developed sacrum, two lungs, two kidneys, three hands, two legs and a single pelvis between them.
Dr Paras Kothari, head of the paediatric department at Sion hospital, under whose care the twins were admitted, said, "The mother wanted to take the babies home. We tried counselling her but finally gave up."
According to the dean's office, the twins were discharged on August 20. "When the mother was told that only one child could be saved as the twins shared a heart and lungs, she decided against the surgery," said a doctor from the paediatric surgery department.
The hospital had decided to get the twins the best available treatment free of cost. They had undergone several diagnostic tests, both in the hospital and in a private set-up. "The mother was very comfortable with the babies and has been feeding them. The twins were stable at the time of discharge and are expected to come for a check-up soon," said Kothari.
As a precaution, the hospital has sent an oxygen cylinder along with the family. The babies had a birth weight of 3.6kg. Conjoined twins is a rare sporadic event, with a prevalence of 1 in 2,00,000-5,00,000 births. The mortality rate is quite high. There are nearly a dozen different types of conjoined twins. The conjoined twins born at the Sion hospital are called cervico paraphagus.
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