A set of conjoined twins have been successfully separated by a team of Nigerian Doctors.
The operation took 13 hours to carefully separate the conjoined twins, Mercy and Goodness Martins at the National Hospital Abuja.
78 doctors took part in the surgery. The doctors were divided into two groups.
Goodness and Mercy Martins were born on the 13th of August 2018 at the Federal Medical Centre, Keffi Nasarawa state, through a caesarean session.
Their unemployed mother had no idea she was expecting twins and she was even more shocked when they came out joined at the chest and abdomen.
The Lead surgeon, Emmanuel Ameh, told BBC that the operation to separate Goodness and Mercy Martins at the chest and abdomen took place in November.
According to the surgeon, the twin sisters are now well enough to go home.
Read also: 17-year-old girl gives birth to conjoined twins in Nasarawa
He said the operation, which cost about $55,000, was complicated. But the medics at National Hospital Abuja did not charge for their work because the twins’ parents – Michael Edeh and Maria Onya Martins – could not afford the medical bills
The twins were officially discharged on Tuesday, January 7 2020.
The minister of health, Dr Osagie Ehanire said:
“These beautiful girls of Benue State origin and their proud parents, are beneficiaries of a healthcare system, when it functions as it supposed to.
“The case management team has demonstrated that our health system, even with modest resources, can rise up to the highest challenges and offer quality care, to find its position among renowned international hospitals.”
Mr Martins, a painter from Oturkpo, said he was so happy to see his daughters alive and well. He added that the family was looking forward to returning home.
He said: “I am so happy to see Goodness wrapped separately. I initially couldn’t believe it. My gratitude goes to God and the medical team. May this success continue.”