Chinese twin loses battle to survive following separation surgery

Jul 10 2006

One of the twins separated from her conjoined sister has lost her battle to survive following complex and extensive surgery which released her from her sister.

The 11 month old baby, Hu Jingxuan, died on Monday, but her sister's condition remains stable but still critical.

Little Hu Jingxuan was the weakest of the conjoined twins separated by surgeons at Fudan University's Children's Hospital in Shanghai last week and died of organ failure.

The surgery which lasted for almost 13 hours was vital because the twins were failing to thrive and both could have died if not separated.

The twins, from a farming family in the eastern province of Zhejiang, were born with a shared liver, spleen, gall bladder and digestive tract and had congenital heart disease.

At birth they weighed a total of 4.4 kilograms (10 pounds) and before the operation both appeared thin and frail and weighed only 7 kilograms (16 pounds) in total.

The surgery on Thursday entailed 70 doctors and nurses working in shifts and staff at the hospital are now fighting to restore the surviving twin's intestinal functions and keep in check post-surgery infection.

Although the surgery is regarded as a success Chen Jingni is still in a precarious condition.

Fudan Children's Hospital has previously carried out numerous separation operations and began planning the girls' surgery immediately after their birth.

A business group in Taizhou, the twins' hometown, apparently raised more than 200,000 Yuan (U.S.$25,000) in funds to help pay for their treatment.