Doctors say a risky operation to separate a pair of 2-year-old conjoined twins joined at the head is necessary to prevent both children from dying.
The twins, Hira and Nida Jamal of Pakistan, were scheduled to undergo surgery Monday at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. The operation, which could take as long as 24 hours, will be performed by a team of 20 doctors and nurses working in shifts.Only about 30 such procedures have been performed on children joined at the head - known as cephalopagus twins. In two-thirds of the operations, one or both children died.
Dr. Harold Hoffman, who is heading the surgical team, said the operation must be performed now because Hira's heart, which had been pumping blood for both twins, is failing.
"Without treatment, these children would not survive long," he said.
The girls have been in the hospital since November, undergoing tests and operations to prepare them for the separation.
An artery from Hira's brain passes into Nida's brain, and a series of veins from Nida's brain crosses over into her sister's.