Conjoined Twins Abandoned By Poverty-Stricken Parents, Successfully Separated After 12-Hour Operation

The Twins: Pictured with their mother

Pictured with a Nurse at the hospital

Conjoined twins have been successfully separated after a 12 hour operation in India.

Aradhana and Stuti Yadav, 11-month-old girls with fused livers and two hearts joined by a membrane, had been abandoned in a hospital hours after birth by their parents.

A specialist team of 23 doctors and 11 nurses from India and Australia took part in the operation, which was paid for by public donations after the girls’ plight was featured on national TV.

The outpouring of generosity, with thousands of small donations by members of the public, is unusual in India where girls are often less valued in rural communities and disabled babies are often abandoned.

Public generosity was matched by a £22,000 fund from the Madhya Pradesh state government.

The girls have been cared for by hospital staff since their birth, with three nurses taking shifts to act as surrogate mothers. 

Surgeons at the under-equipped Paddar Hospital spent months appealing for international help and preparing for an operation.

Born into a poor family in the small town of Betul, the girls’ father is said to be a farmer with a small holding of land. Hospital staff tracked the family down and agreed to look after the children if the parents developed a relationship with the girls.

“They are very poor and even the delivery had been done under a government scheme for healthy deliveries. After the babies were born it was clear they would not have been able to provide medical attention needed for them. So, the hospital decided to look after them in the near future till it became clear that surgery would be possible,” said a spokesman.

Hospital authorities said they were pleased the parents wanted to take their girls home after surgery, describing it as the best possible outcome.