Doctors at Mulago National Referral Hospital have successfully performed a rare and highly delicate operation to save the life of a six-day-old baby girl by separating her from an underdeveloped parasitic twin attached to her body.
The complex procedure, known medically as parasitic twin separation surgery, was carried out during a specialised medical camp at Mulago, where surgeons attended to several children with complicated surgical conditions.
Unlike identical twins, who develop fully, a parasitic twin forms when one twin stops developing in the womb and survives by depending entirely on the blood supply of the healthy twin. In this case, the underdeveloped twin was attached to the lower back of the surviving baby.
Speaking to Uganda Radio Network (URN) on Wednesday morning, Dr Stella Nimanya, a Senior Paediatric Surgeon who led the surgical team, explained that parasitic twin surgery involves carefully removing the non-viable twin to protect the life of the healthy baby.
Dr Nimanya noted that while parasitic twin surgeries are often long and risky, this particular operation took less than three hours, a significant improvement compared to a previous similar case at Mulago, where surgeons spent more than 20 hours separating twins who were also joined at the lower back.
She explained that although the twins did not share major internal organs such as the heart or liver, the surgery had to be conducted urgently. The parasitic twin had developed visible body parts, including limbs, ribs and genital organs, but it lacked vital systems needed for survival.
According to Dr Nimanya, the underdeveloped twin was placing a dangerous strain on the healthy baby’s heart by drawing blood from her body. There was also a high risk that the parasitic tissue could begin to die off, releasing toxins into the bloodstream of the living baby, potentially leading to severe infection, organ damage or heart failure.
Over the years, Mulago National Referral Hospital has built strong expertise in handling such rare cases, having successfully performed about a dozen parasitic and conjoined twin separation surgeries. Hospital specialists note that most of the children who need these life-saving procedures come from low-income families and are treated free of charge.
When asked to estimate the cost of such a surgery, Dr Nimanya said it is difficult to give an exact figure due to the involvement of multiple specialist teams, advanced imaging, laboratory tests and expensive medicines. However, studies are underway to establish standard cost ranges for such procedures.
Previously, Mulago’s Executive Director, Dr Rosemary Byanyima, told URN that the hospital once spent about 21 million Shillings to separate conjoined twins who shared a liver, a cost that was fully covered by the hospital.
In this latest case, while the final cost is still being assessed, the baby girl has since been discharged in stable condition. Her mother, Rachael Nantongo, told URN by phone that her daughter is recovering well.
Nantongo said she had no idea she was carrying twins until she suddenly went into labour while visiting her in-laws in the Busoga sub-region. She was delivered by Caesarean section at Jinja Regional Referral Hospital before being referred to Mulago three days later for specialised care.
Parasitic twin cases are extremely rare. According to the World Health Organisation, they occur in approximately one in every one million births worldwide, making this successful surgery not only a medical milestone but also a life-changing moment for a young mother and her newborn child.
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