Conjoined twins Nima and Dawa successfully separated

Surgeons have successfully separated conjoined Bhutanese toddler twins Nima and Dawa.

Conjoined Bhutanese twins Nima and Dawa have been successfully separated during a six hour operation which was completed more quickly than staff at the Royal Children’s Hospital had anticipated.

The 15-month-old girls went into the operating theatre at 8am, with head of paediatric surgery Dr Joe Crameri predicting their operation was unlikely to be completed by 4pm and could extend into tonight.

Nima and Dawa are separated after the surgery. Picture RCH Melbourne Creative Studio

But by 2:30 this afternoon, media were being called to the hospital for a 4pm press conference on the successful operation.

“The first thing I’d like to say is through this journey we’re learnt that Bhutan is certainly the land of happiness, but I was very pleased to report today it wasn’t the land of surprises,” Dr Crameri said.

Nima, right, and Dawa, left, being held by their mother Bhumchu before their surgery. Picture: Alex Coppel

“We are here earlier because there weren’t any things inside the girls’ tummies that we weren’t really prepared for.”

Dr Crameri congratulated the team he headed up, which included more than 20 surgeons, nurses and anaesthetists.

“All their hard work and effort over the past few weeks I think really paid dividends today,” he said.

“We saw two young girls who were very ready for this surgery, who were able to cope very well with the surgery, and are currently in our recovery doing very well, and we’re pleased with that, but that takes a lot of work, and I think they all need to be congratulated.”

The surgery team behind the marathon operation to seperate the Bhutanese conjoined twins at the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne. Picture: Alex Coppel

The girls were connected at the torso and share a liver, but doctors had been concerned about the extent to which they shared a bowel, which could have complicated the operation.

The sisters were brought to Australia with their mother Bhumchu Zangmo in October and have been staying at the Children First Foundation retreat in Kilmore.

The procedure and recovery are expected to cost at least $350,000 and the state government has offered to pay the bill.

Other funds which have been raised through donations from generous Australians will go towards the twins’ rehabilitation and return home.

Dr Crameri said the medical team had known the girls’ liver would be connected, but that they had been able to divide it successfully, without any major bleeding.

“We’re very fortunate in that there wasn’t any significant bowel attachment, and while it was all swimming next to one another, it wasn’t actually connected in any major way, and really the main challenge today, as we thought, was getting the abdomen reconstructed so that both areas were closed over,” he said.

“Dr Jonathan Burge who’s one of our plastic surgeons assisted us in being able to get both muscle and skin closure for both girls.

“There will be challenges over the next 24 to 48 hours, as with any surgery.

“We feel quietly confident that we will have a good result and that’s what I’ve just told mum upstairs, but as all post-operative things we have to closely monitor things now for a while to be sure that we achieve our aim.”

Dr Crameri said the girls’ mother, Bhumchu Zangmo was “very relieved”, and Bhutanese doctor Karma Sherub had played a role in liaising with the team and reassuring Ms Zangmo.

“I’ve just found out that she was very stressed today, so it has been a very difficult day for her,” he said.

“We’re fortunate Dr Karma here has come all the way from Bhutan, so he’s been able to give us assistance during the day, and it’s been an invaluable for Dr Karma also to explain to mum exactly what’s happened and to reassure her that everything’s gone well.”