Parents Bongekile Simelane and Mbongeni Sihlongonyane with twins Uwenzile and Uyihlelile

by SAVIOUS KWINIKA
JOHANNESBURG – AFTER a historic separation procedure conducted in neighbouring South Africa, a set of twins born prematurely and conjoined are ready to travel back home.

The procedure has been performed at the Netcare Unitas Hospital in Centurion, paving way for their return on Thursday.

“These very special twin girls made such good progress that they were transferred from the paediatric intensive care unit into the paediatric ward over the weekend, and we are delighted to share the good news that they will be going home shortly,” says Robert Jordaan, general manager of the hospital.

Uwenzile and Uyihlelile were born prematurely at 36 weeks as conjoined twins via caesarean section at the Good Shepherd Hospital in Siteki, Swaziland, to parents Bongekile Simelane and Mbongeni Sihlongonyane.

At birth they had a combined weight of 4,21 kg.

The twins were joined at the lower abdomen and did not share any organs. These types of conjoined twins are known as omphalopagus twins.

They were admitted to Netcare Unitas Hospital through the Swaziland Government’s Phalala Fund on January 15.

A team of eight doctors and a theatre team of 11 nursing professionals, most of them women, successfully completed the six-hour operation on 21 January.

They encountered a significant challenge because the conjoined twins were facing each other, making the delicate task of intubating the little babies more complicated than usual.

“This has been a significant milestone in the hospital’s history, as the first separation of conjoined twins undertaken at Netcare Unitas Hospital,” Jordaan concluded.

Simelane expressed her gratitude for the people and various organisations that were involved in separating the twins.

These include the Swaziland government, Healthshare Health Solutions, which administers the fund for the Swaziland Ministry of Health, and the medical and nursing teams at Netcare Unitas Hospital.

– CAJ News