Thoughts, Dreams, and Emotions…

Dream Of Separate Lives Ends: Women underwent 50 hours of continuous surgery
Wednesday, July 9, 2003 Posted: 0248 GMT (10:48 AM HKT)
The deaths of two conjoined Iranian twins following unprecedented surgery to separate them has prompted an outpouring of grief around the world.
Ladan Bijani died when her blood circulation failed after the operation to separate the twins’ brains, officials at Singapore’s Raffles Hospital say. Her sister Laleh died when her circulation failed one-and-a-half hours later. Mourners gathered outside of Raffles Hospital and the sad news spread quickly through the twins’ home country of Iran.
The 29-year-old twins — both law graduates — had two distinct brains, but they were fused together, requiring a team of international doctors to spend many painstaking hours separating them in surgery dubbed “Operation Hope.”
At a news conference, hospital chairman Dr. Loo Choon Yong said that when complications arose after their brains were separated, surgeons had the option to attempt to stabilize them and transfer them to intensive care, or continue with the most risky part of the surgery.
“The team wanted to know once again what were the wishes of Ladan and Laleh,” he said. “We were told that Ladan and Laleh’s wishes were to be separated under all circumstances. “We knew the risks were great — we knew one of the scenarios was that we would lose both of them,” he said. He said the twins took 50 hours of anesthesia and continuous surgery well and doctors had been “hopeful but very cautious.” After the brain separation, there was some bleeding which they tolerated well for a while, he said. But Ladan’s surgery began to fail and she died at 2.30 p.m. (0630 GMT) on Tuesday.
“Laleh was critical but holding on. Surgery to her brain continued. She continued to receive a blood transfusion. However, her circulation began to fail also. The whole team did everything to save her.” Laleh died at one-and-a-half hours later.
“We are very grateful and thankful for the help and sacrifice of so many specialists, doctors, teachers, nurses and other people, all united with one common purpose, to do something — anything — that can help Ladan and Laleh fulfill their wishes.
“We also want to thank so many people for their prayers — whether they are Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, or Muslim — everyone had been praying for the twins and we are grateful because as doctors we know there’s only so much we can do, and the rest we have to leave it to the Almighty.”
In Iran, the operation has dominated news coverage in the country. “May God bless their souls and reward them with peace in their eternal life,” said the Islamic Republic of Iran News Agency, in condolences “to all Iranians across the globe on loss of the two kind sisters on Tuesday in Singapore City.”

Willing to face the risks
The twins made a big impression around the world with their display of courage and bravery going into the dangerous operation. Doctors at one point tried to talk them out of the operation, but the sisters said they were willing to accept the risks and face those dangers to lead separate lives.
Earlier Tuesday, neurosurgeons carefully teased apart packed brain tissue millimeter by millimeter in a delicate and risky procedure on the third day of the operation. Surgery to separate the twins, who were joined only at the head, began on Sunday and doctors had to battle against unstable blood pressure levels as they slowly split apart the fused brains.
The complicated process of paring apart the twins’ brains began late Monday and separating them was one of the most challenging parts of the surgery. Prior to separating the brains, surgeons completed the process of rerouting a single large vein that served to drain both their brains. An international team of neurosurgeons, dozens of doctors, plus support staff created a bypass for Ladan, using a vein grafted from her leg. This caused another complication, Kumar said, as blood circulation between the twins became unstable.
Source: CNN.com

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One Twin Dead After Separation
Tuesday, July 8, 2003 Posted: 4:18 AM EDT (0818 GMT)
One of the conjoined adult Iranian twins separated after unprecedented surgery has died, according to officials at Singapore’s Raffles Hospital.
Ladan Bijani, the more outspoken of the two, died due to a severe loss of blood as the separation of the twins’ brains was coming to a close. Doctors are working to stabilize her sister Laleh, who is still critical from the risky operation. Neither twin was believed to be at a greater risk ahead of surgery. There were tears at the hospital in Singapore as spokesman Dr. Prem Kumar Nair made the announcement. The twins made a big impression around the world with their display of courage and bravery going into the dangerous operation. Doctors at one point tried to talk the them out of the operation, but the 29-year-old sisters, both law graduates, said they were willing to accept the risks and face those dangers to lead separate lives.
Earlier Tuesday, neurosurgeons carefully teased apart packed brain tissue millimeter by millimeter in a delicate and risky procedure on the third day of the operation. Surgery to separate the twins, who were joined only at the head, began on Sunday and doctors had to battle against unstable blood pressure levels as they slowly split apart the fused brains. The complicated process of paring apart the twins’ brains began late Monday and separating them was one of the most challenging parts of the surgery, dubbed “Operation Hope.”
Prior to separating the brains, surgeons completed the process of rerouting a large vein that serves both their brains.
An international team of neurosurgeons, dozens of doctors, plus support staff created a bypass for Ladan, using a vein grafted from her leg. This caused another complication, Kumar said, as blood circulation between the twins became unstable.

More hurdles ahead
The operation is a landmark procedure. Although Singapore doctors performed a similar operation in 2001 on infant Nepalese girls, surgery on adult twins is unprecedented.
The operation is more difficult in adults than in children, who have more recuperative powers. Twins joined at the head are the rarest of conjoined twins, occurring one in every 2 million births. Twins joined elsewhere occur once in every 100,000 births.
The Bijanis’ operation was considered elective because the women likely would live a normal life span without it.
However, testing showed the sisters had high intracranial pressure, which, if untreated, could cause frequent debilitating migraines and impaired vision as well as deteriorating brain function, the hospital said. The sisters made an impression on Singapore’s public, in part because of their cheerful demeanor before the operation. Cards, flowers, and offers of support were sent to the hospital from around the world.
The hospital paid for pre-operative fees and the medical costs involved in operation. The operating surgeons waived their professional fees. The government of Iran said Monday it will pay $300,000 for post-operative care.
Source: CNN.com

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WHO Drops Final Country From SARS List
WHO Drops the World’s Last SARS Hotspot, Taiwan, From List of Infected Areas Worldwide
TAIPEI, Taiwan July 5 �
The World Health Organization scratched the last name off its worldwide list of SARS hotspots Saturday, declaring that Taiwan had contained the virus at last.
The announcement means that the SARS virus has finally been subdued after infecting at least 8,400 people and killing 812, mostly in Asia but also in Africa and Canada, since it surfaced early late last year.
“Today is a milestone,” WHO Director-General Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland said at the group’s headquarters in Geneva.
She warned that severe acute respiratory syndrome could spread again if countries aren’t careful. There are still close to 200 cases in hospitals around the world.
“It is possible that SARS cases have slipped through the surveillance net and we know that one single case can spark a new outbreak,” she added.
Territories affected by SARS had to report no new cases for 20 days to get off the list, and Taiwan’s countdown began June 15. The government watched as China, Hong Kong, and Toronto were crossed off in recent days.
Taiwanese Premier Yu Shyi-kun told reporters he was “extremely happy” with the news. “We can finally return to our normal lives,” he said.
The mysterious illness was believed to have originated in southern China, where the first known cases appeared last November. From China, experts believe it jumped to Hong Kong, Vietnam and Singapore.
Initially, Taiwan fended off the virus, and officials said they had whipped it even as the death toll rose in China, Hong Kong and Singapore.
But in late April, the virus exploited weaknesses at Taiwanese hospitals, which failed to properly diagnose and isolate infected patients. SARS quickly spread in the capital, Taipei, and the deaths began accumulating.
Taiwan eventually became the world’s No. 3 SARS hotspot, reporting 84 deaths and 682 infections. But it trailed far behind mainland China, which had 348 deaths, and Hong Kong, with 298 deaths.
Dr. David Heymann, WHO’s executive director of communicable diseases, backed up Brundtland’s warning. “A false sense of security could become our worst enemy,” he said.
Taiwanese have been making travel plans again and stripping off surgical masks they were required to wear on subways during the outbreak’s peak.
Mary Wei, a Taipei housewife, said she canceled plans to visit Seattle in May because her friends in America asked her not to come because of SARS fears. But now she’s planning to take her U.S. trip next week.
“I didn’t blame them. People were scared of us,” she said.
Source: ABCnews.com

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