Conjoined twins wait for op after mother disappears
By Liu Rui (China Daily)
Updated: 2006-01-13 05:48

SHANGHAI: An operation to separate conjoined twin girls has been thrown into doubt after their mother disappeared.

Chen Yanfen gave birth by caesarean section to the girls on August 24 last year at Shanghai Children's Hospital of Fudan University.

But she and her husband, Hu Zaiji, abandoned them there shortly afterwards.

Chen, from Taizhou, a coastal city in Zhejiang Province, briefly visited the pair several days later.

She returned with her father earlier this week to see the twins, who are now in a stable condition.

She pledged she would stay with her children in Shanghai and announced for the first time that she wanted them to have separation surgery as soon as possible.

However, when doctors set out to make preparations for the surgery, Chen disappeared again on Tuesday afternoon.

It meant a consultation scheduled for yesterday was cancelled.

Luo Weifen, vice-director of the Social Development Department at the hospital, said: "Separation surgery is not a small decision.

"Their family has to be in full co-operation with our hospital. If they are determined to separate the twin girls, they should stay with the babies so we can keep them posted about the babies' condition."

The operation needs the signature of the girls' direct relatives, such as their parents.

The twins share one anus, one liver and one intestinal system and have congenital heart disease.

Doctors said separation surgery would be difficult.

During Chen's first visit to the babies she was unable to touch them as they were in intensive care.

But sources at the hospital said during her latest visit she cuddled and played with the two girls, and even named them Hu Jingxuan and Chen Jingni.

Her father Chen Fuchang, 63, said: "She has been suffering a lot since she gave birth to the conjoined twins. Her health has deteriorated and she is afraid to talk to others, especially reporters.

"It's not that we want to abandon them, it's that we can't afford to take care of them."

Chen lives in a disadvantaged rural family, with a mentally-ill brother and a niece who suffers from leukaemia. Chen's husband has declared that he will not take care of the twins.

According to Luo, the surgery will cost 300,000-500,000 yuan (US$36,000-60,000).

"We can't promise that they will survive after the separation," he said. "If they have complications after the surgery, that will mean even more money."

Luo said although the Taizhou Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai has promised to donate money for the twins, it has not yet decided whether it should be used for the operation or post-surgery treatment.

"Everything is hanging in the air," Luo said. "The two little things are most sad."

(China Daily 01/13/2006 page3)