Conjoined babies separated through simple surgery

Two babies who were conjoined by their heads have successfully been separated through a surgery in Moscow.

At first doctors believed it to be a complicated surgery as they thought the babies’ heads were joined at skull, but then they figured out that it was only skin.

The scans taken of the twin girls when they were still inside the womb had suggested as if their skulls were conjoined but surprisingly it was not the case.

It took only half an hour to separate them and both are expected to make a good recovery.

Professor Andrey Prytyko, who led the operation, said he had been expecting to have to carry out a much more complex operation lasting hours.

He said: “The girls grew together only with their skin. We thought they did it with the bones, this is why we prepared for a major operation.”

Professor Prytyko said “the twins were likely to develop in the most wonderful way”, adding: “Their hair will grow and it is done. The parents are happy.”

Skulls of the girls got slightly deformed by the way they were conjoined in the womb, however the brains appear to be developing normally.

Doctors say parents of the babies will be able to perform a series of simple exercises with the girls to push their skulls back into shape.

“They might also have to wear special helmets for a while,” they said.