Conjoined Twins Successfully Separated By 78-Member Team

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Conjoined twin sisters, who were joined in the chest and abdomen, were successfully separated after having surgery performed on them by a 78-member team in Abuja, Nigeria.

Mercy and Goodness Ede are now healthy baby girls and can return home just six weeks after surgery. The twins had the procedure last November,

CNN reports that the surgery took 13 hours,

“We are just happy and proud that the team that worked on this surgery were all Nigerians. It was done in Nigeria and the parents didn’t have to go outside the country,” Dr.Tayo Haastrup said.

The surgery can cost thousands of dollars, but, was performed for free as the twins’ parents were unable to afford it.

The twins were born August 13, but, had to delay their surgery due to potential complications.

“We needed to determine if they could live independently when they are separated. We found out that they were sharing a diaphragm and one liver was serving both of them, but all other organs were separate,” said pediatric surgeon Emmanuel Ameh.