The Jakarta Globe, Ismira Lutfia, January 31, 2009
The conjoined twins born in an Acehnese hospital on Jan. 25 are in good health and do not need to undergo surgery, a hospital spokesman said on Friday.
“The twins are in relatively stable condition,” said Sinar Ginting, a spokesman for the Adam Malik Hospital. “They are being treated at the hospital’s pediatric intensive care unit.”
The twins, who share one body despite having two heads, were born at the Cut Meutia Hospital in Langsa, Aceh Province through a caesarian operation last Sunday, the detik.com news Web site reported.
Ginting said that the twins share one pair of arms and legs, but have two spines and two hearts.
The babies, who were named Marwati 1 and Marwati 2, have one set of genitals. They were 48 centimeters long and weighed 4.6 kilograms at birth.
Ginting said that a team of doctors at the Adam Malik Hospital have been closely monitoring the condition of the twins, particularly after their health weakened on Thursday and their skin began to take on a yellow color.
“They are currently undergoing ultraviolet light exposure treatment,” he said.
“We do not plan to perform surgery on them at the moment because they are too young,” Ginting said, adding that a set of conjoined twins should be at least 10 months old before doctors could attempt to separate them through surgery.
The twins’ father, Sugiyono, 36, a plantation worker in the East Aceh district, took the baby to the hospital at the suggestion of doctors in Langsa. Their mother, Marwati, 30, is still in Langsa and is too weak to travel.
A similar set of conjoined twins with two heads and one body was born at a hospital in Jakarta in August 2006, but died 15 days later.
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