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Early tests on twins show few complications
DALLAS, Texas (CNN) -- Early tests show few complications for 2-year-old Egyptian twin boys separated in marathon surgery after being joined at the head since birth, a hospital spokesman said Monday.
"The mood in the intensive care unit is one of optimism," said Dr. James Thomas, director of critical care at Children's Medical Center in Dallas.
"Everything has gone ... very well, but everybody knows this is not a time to be careless; this is not a time to rest on your laurels."
Ahmed and Mohamed Ibrahim were listed in critical condition Monday after a 34-hour operation over the weekend.
Doctors expect to keep the twins in a drug-induced coma for another two to three days to help limit post-operative swelling of their brains, which doctors separated as part of the operation.
A CT scan of the brain showed little evidence of swelling Monday morning, Thomas said.
"Both Ahmed and Mohamed's brain scans look good. There is no hemorrhage and minimal residual brain swelling," he told reporters Monday afternoon. "The neurosurgery team is quite pleased with what they see."
But the boys must overcome a number of other hurdles, including a risk of infection and the possible formation of blood clots that could lead to strokes, the hospital said.
Ahmed and Mohamed were resting in a special bed that levitates them on a cushion of air to prevent bedsores and to limit the risk of infection, Thomas said.
In an earlier interview, he said the boys' father fainted when doctors told him his sons had been separated. "When I came up to the waiting room, he was flat out on the floor," Thomas said.
The Egyptian boys, who arrived at the hospital Thursday morning for two days of pre-operative preparation, were born in a town about 500 miles south of Cairo.
The World Craniofacial Foundation helped organize the endeavor and paid for the boys' way to Dallas.
The foundation has raised $125,000 for the separation surgery, which could cost $2 million, according to the group's Web site. The hospital and medical team are donating their services, the foundation said.
The twins' deformity, called craniopagus twinning, occurs in 1 in 10 million live births, according to the foundation. About 2 percent of conjoined twins are connected head-to-head.
http://www.cnn.com/2003/HEALTH/10/1...wins/index.html
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10-13-2003 11:08 PM
