Conjoined girls separated in surgery
The conjoined twin girls Zheng Hanjing and Zheng Hanwei are expected to begin gastrointestinal feeding and start breathing independently on Friday, doctors said, two days after a four-hour operation to separate them in Shanghai.
The 10-month-old twins were conjoined at the chest and abdomen and shared a liver and part of the pericardium, the double-walled membrane that holds the heart in place. After the operation on Wednesday, the older sister, Zheng Hanjing, weighed approximately 8 kg and Zheng Hanwei about 6 kg.
The girls are receiving care in the Shanghai Children's Medical Center's intensive care unit. On the first night after the operation, they both had fevers of 39 C due to their weakened immune systems. Doctors have adopted a treatment plan to control potential infections, the center said.
