Bangladeshi conjoined twins expect surgery

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Conjoined twins Rabia and Rukia were admitted to a hospital in Dhaka, Bangladesh on Monday. Doctors will be monitoring the twins’ health in the coming weeks and assess if and when surgical separation is possible.

Rabia and Rukia were born joined at the head at the PDC Clinic in Pabna, North Bangladesh on July 16 last year. The parents, Taslima Khatun Uno and Mohammed Rafiqul Islam, didn’t learn that the twins were conjoined until after the birth.

Their mother had enjoyed a normal pregnancy until around a month before the due date. It was only during delivery that she discovered that something could be wrong.

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In the end, the sisters were delivered by Caesarean section and spent two weeks in intensive care.

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Now the parents, who are both teachers, face an agonising wait to see if surgeons can operate to separate the pair. Apart from possible risks to the twins' lives, the parents are also faced with problems on how to fund the surgery and all other medical fees.

They have made a plea to the Bangladeshi government to financially support the operations.

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