KOTA KINABALU: Sabah has successfully performed its second separation surgery on conjoined twins, bringing forward the operation after one of the babies required increasing respiratory support.
The premature male twins, classified as pygopagus, were joined at the lower spine, sacrum and pelvis. They underwent the complex procedure at Sabah Women and Children’s Hospital in Likas.
They were delivered through an emergency Caesarean section at 32 weeks of gestation after the condition was detected during routine antenatal care, and were admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) for monitoring.
The hospital initially planned to separate the twins when they were four to six months old to allow them to grow and stabilise. However, the operation was brought forward after one twin required increasing respiratory support in the NICU.
The medical and surgical teams decided to proceed on the 40th day after birth, taking into account the physiological strain on their shared organ systems, the hospital said in a statement on its Facebook page.
The procedure involved separating their connected lower intestinal and urinary systems, followed by reconstruction of the pelvic floor, creation of a neoanus and restoration of the urinary pathways.
The operation required close coordination among multidisciplinary teams from Sabah Women and Children’s Hospital, Hospital Tunku Azizah in Kuala Lumpur and Hospital Umum Sarawak.
The hospital said performing the high-risk procedure in Sabah strengthened the state’s specialised paediatric healthcare capabilities and avoided the need to transfer the premature babies by air to Peninsular Malaysia.