Kalia, the 5-year-old tribal boy from the Kandhamal district of Odisha who was separated from his Siamese twin Jaga in a series of operations in August-October 2017 in India’s first craniopagus surgery, died at a government hospital in Cuttack on Wednesday night.
Kalia, fused in the head with her twin Jaga since birth in 2015, was separated from her brother by a team of doctors at AIIMS New Delhi in the first skull surgery in India in the course of 45 hours of surgery performed over two months. . The twins, who were 27 months old at the time, were operated on for the first time on August 28, 2017 by a team of 20 specialists and finally had their heads removed in another operation in October. While there was a considerable improvement in Jaga’s health, Kalia’s recovery was comparatively slower as doctors said it would take her six more months to fully recover.
After rehabilitation and postoperative care at AIIMS New Delhi for almost 2 years, the twins returned to Odisha in September last year, but did not return home to Kandhamal and remained at SCB Medical College under the supervision of a team of doctors. However, the children’s parents feared the lack of adequate care in Odisha, but the AIIMS doctors convinced them that there would be no problems. His treatment was being carried out under a protocol developed by AIIMS Delhi.
SCB doctors said Kalia had no problems until her condition deteriorated last week. “Five days ago, Kalia’s condition suddenly became critical. Today, he developed septicemia and passed away, ”said Dr. Bhubanananda Maharana, emergency officer, SCB College of Medicine and Hospital, Cuttack.
Siamese twins born to rickshaw driver Bhuyan Kanhar and his wife Pushpanjali Kanhar in Milipada in Kandhamal district became aware in July 2017 after the parents, with the help of an NGO, tried to seek treatment. The news caught the attention of the media and the Odisha government took full responsibility for the treatment and sanctioned Rs 1 crore. After due consultation, the twins were sent to the Indian Institute of Medical Sciences.
Craniopagus twins occur once in 3 million births, and 50% of those affected die within 24 hours. Half of those children die at birth or within 24 hours. They shared blood vessels and brain tissues, a very rare condition. In India, no twin fused at the head had been separated until Jaga and Kalia parted ways.
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