Country to witness first operation on conjoined spines
A BSMMU doctor came to the aid of the poor father of the twins with financial and medical support
Transport worker Alamgir became a very lucky man eight months ago when his wife successfully gave birth to twin daughters at a clinic in Kurigram.
However, the new parents also struggled to accept the reality that they would have to see their daughters suffer for the rest of their lives for having conjoined lower backs.
Their separation would require the country's first successful medical operation to separate attached spines of two individuals, and thanks to some brave health professionals from the Bangladesh Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), all the necessary procedures for undertaking the historic task have already been completed.
The concerned medical board will announce Thursday (1 December), the dates of operation for the series of complex surgeries.
To fund the huge costs, the hospital authorities are seeking additional sources and the prime minister's office is a highly prospective option having twice donated for the separation of conjoined twins.
BSMMU professor Dr Mohammad Hossain, first came to the assistance of cash-strapped Alamgir almost like a messiah when he heard of the twin sisters Nuha and Naba during a knowledge sharing visit to Kurigram.
Without asking, the professor of neurosurgery took steps to get the twins admitted to BSMMU, led all the relevant medical activities for the past five months, and even shared medical expenses with the hospital authorities. Due to multiple birth defects in the baby sisters, Hossain's 19-member team had to delay operations till now.
The team includes experts on paediatric surgery, neurosurgery, plastic surgery, paediatric medicine, vascular surgery, anaesthesia, and transfusion medicine.
A successful separation operation on Nuha and Naba would be the third on conjoined twins in the country.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina funded the first two operations: one in 2017 at Dhaka Medical College on the conjoined waists of Tofa and Tahura, and the other in 2019 at the Combined Medical Hospital on the conjoined heads of Rabeya and Rukaya.
