After spending two years at AIIMS in Delhi, conjoined twins, Jaga and Balia left for their hometown in Odisha on Friday. The craniopagus had undergone complicated marathon surgeries for separation of their heads at their hospital. Before leaving, one of the kids was seen sharing a light moment with doctors in the hospital corridor. A video of Jaga kicking a ball with hospital staff after his separation surgery from brother Balia is being widely shared on social media.
Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan lauded the team of doctors for the "rarest of the rare" surgery and highlighted it was the "first successful craniopagus conjoined twin separation surgery" in India wherein both the children survived. Meanwhile, the video of one of the boys playing football in the hospital corridor has won a place in the hearts of people.
Watch The Video Below:
#WATCH Delhi: Jaga, one of the conjoined twins, plays football with hospital staff at AIIMS. Jaga&Balia were admitted at AIIMS on 14.07.2017 as Craniopagus (conjoined twins) where they underwent staged separation of surgeries&separated on 25.10.2017. They'll be shifted to Odisha. pic.twitter.com/8yUw5zSPns
— ANI (@ANI) September 6, 2019
Harsh Vardhan said, "The way Indian scientists have brought global recognition to the country through the Chandrayaan-2 mission, doctors at AIIMS have achieved a feat by performing this rarest of the rare surgery on a craniopagus conjoined twins, who hail from the tribal belt of Odisha." He also said, "It can be called 'AIIMS Delhi Jaga and Balia craniopagus surgery'." The twins have boarded a train to Cuttack accompanied by a team of three doctors, including a neurosurgeon, a neuro anaesthetists and a paediatrician, along with a nurse from AIIMS.
Talking about the present condition of the twins, Professor of Neurosurgery at AIIMS Dr Deepak Gupta, who led the surgery said, "Jaga is developing well in all domains of neuropsychological assessment. He is gaining weight and can join school immediately after returning home." However, Balia is neurologically disabled and is being fed through a special tube. While he is breathing on his own he requires long-term rehabilitation care. As both the kids have large skill defect on vertex, the Odisha government has also requested the AIIMS authorities to provide the twins customised helmets along with physiotherapy chair.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 07, 2019 03:01 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).