One of Odisha's conjoined, now separated twins on ventilator

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New Delhi: Three months after conjoined twins from Odisha underwent surgery at AIIMS, one of the separated twins, Kalia, has been put on ventilator after his condition deteriorated following a skin graft surgery performed earlier this week at AIIMS, sources said on Thursday.

Kalia had undergone a skin grafting surgery on his head. The twins were joined at the head.

"The skin grafting of head of one of the twins Kalia was performed earlier this week and thereafter he has been put on ventilator as his condition deteriorated," sources told IANS.

Sources said he is under constant observation of the surgeons. The other twin Jagga underwent skin grafting surgery of his head earlier and is recovering.

Doctors at the hospital had successfully conducted a 22-hour-long craniopagus surgery to separate Jagga and Kalia on October 25 and 26. The twins, whose craniums were fused, were brought to AIIMS on July 14 from Milipada village in Odisha's Kandhamal district.

The first phase of surgery, where experts from Japan were also present, was done on August 28. In it, a new bypass technique was used for the first time to separate the twins.

Earlier, AIIMS Director Randeep Guleria told IANS that discharging the two, Jagga and Kalia, might take eight to nine months, as reconstructive and re-plastic surgery for the skull of the two babies needs to be done.

"Though the top of the brain has been separated, the top has to be re-grafted with skin, so that may take months. It's a long-drawn process and depends on how things go," Guleria told IANS.

Stating that skin grafting was not an easy task, Guleria said usually the skin is taken from some other part of the body and used where it was needed.

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