A team of 60 Turkish doctors managed to separate 11-month-old Siamese twins from Pakistan after a 14-hour operation in Ankara, in a complex two-stage surgery made possible by Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan.
Turkish media reported that the two conjoined twins, named Mirha and Minal and born joined at the head, could not be treated in their home country, so their parents contacted renowned Kashmiri-born, UK-based neurosurgeon Owase Jeelani in London, who told them that the operation to separate the two sisters was possible. However, since the family lacked the financial means to pay for the operation, however, Jeelani contacted Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan, who promised to treat the two girls in Turkey.
Transferred to Ankara last May, they were placed under medical supervision at Bilkent City Hospital – the largest hospital in Europe – until the operation was carried out in two stages on 19 July (although it has only now been announced) by a medical team led by Jeelani himself, together with Turkish doctors Harun Demirci and Hasan Murat Ergani.
Dr Aziz Ahmet Surel, the hospital’s chief coordinating doctor, stressed the importance of the operation, which was also a unique opportunity for Turkish and British doctors to share knowledge and experience: ‘Seeing now the babies’ healthy and smiling faces, compared to their condition when they first arrived, is an indescribable joy,’ he told Anatolia news agency.
‘It was one of the most exciting moments of my life’
Namık Yaşar Özbek, head of the Department of Paediatric Haematology and Oncology at Bilkent City Hospital, also underlined the intense work of the medical teams during the operation: ‘The babies had some problems sitting up or moving their hands due to their joint. But after the operation, our neurologists, physiotherapists and neurodevelopment specialists solved these problems. The babies are now doing very well, they have started to use their hands and arms, and to regain control of their heads. In 10 days they will celebrate their first birthday separately,’ he said.
Dr Ergani, a specialist in reconstructive surgery and one of the Turkish doctors who led the operation, explained that ‘when we separated the babies, the tissue to cover the brain was crucial because their brains were going to be exposed, any complication could harm the children, so we planned it very carefully, and after successfully separating the Siamese twins we shared the tissue’. ‘Seeing now both babies healthy is an incredible joy. When we successfully separated them, the whole medical team looked at each other and applauded. It was one of the most exciting moments of my life,’ he confessed.
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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