Formerly conjoined twins leave Saigon hospital

By Thu Anh   October 7, 2020 | 02:42 am PT
Formerly conjoined twins leave Saigon hospital
Hoang Dieu Nhi (L) and Hoang Truc Nhi pose for the camera at their discharge ceremony from the HCMC Children's Hospital, their parents by their side, October 7, 2020. Photo by VnExpress/Thu Anh.
A pair of formerly conjoined twins left a HCMC hospital in good health on Wednesday morning, 85 days following their separation.

At 16 months, Hoang Truc Nhi and Hoang Dieu Nhi were allowed to return home to District 9.

Their discharge from the HCMC Children’s Hospital merited a ceremony of its own, with the girls splashed out in matching pink alongside their parents.

Truc Nhi and Dieu Nhi’s recovery was "near perfect," said Truong Quang Dinh, hospital director. Their digestive and urinal functions are normal and stable, with the girls developing just like any other child their age, both physically and mentally. However, they would require further surgery until age 18 for their bodies to fully develop, he said.

Nguyen Tan Binh, director of the HCMC Department of Health, said their separation surgery had gone down in history and exceeded doctors’ wildest imagination.

"We tried our best to fix what creation has yet to finish. The new journey has just begun, with many challenges ahead. I hope the girls would grow up healthy and safe," Dinh said.

Hoang Anh, the girl's father, said: "As parents, we are happy and grateful to the doctors and nurses who have let our girls be reborn, have independent bodies, and access a bright future."

Hospital treatment costs had gone up to nearly VND1.3 billion ($55,968), of which VND600 million would be covered by medical insurance. Donations, however, have so far reached nearly VND2.4 billion, allowing the hospital to return VND1.5 billion to the family. The twins’ parents had given the hospital around VND200 million in advance payments for future treatment.

Truc Nhi and Dieu Nhi were born conjoined at the pelvis. They were classified a pair of Ischiopagus Tetrapus (Quadripus) conjoined twins, having a symmetrical continuous longitudinal axis with their area of union not broken anteriorly. If a pair of conjoined twins is born for every 200,000 births, only 6 percent are classified thus, doctors said.

Around 100 doctors and nurses from major southern Vietnamese hospitals participated in their surgical separation in July.

 
 
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