Dr Nyaweleni Tshifularo and his medical team successfully separated the conjoined twins from Limpopo during groundbreaking surgery at the Mankweng Hospital on 29 January.
Facebook/Mankweng Hospital
- The separation of Limpopo’s conjoined twins marked the first time such a complex surgery was performed at a rural hospital in South Africa, earning national praise, including from President Cyril Ramaphosa.
- On Friday, one of the twins succumbed to complications from post-operative infections, despite the medical team’s relentless efforts to save him.
- The surviving twin is showing signs of recovery.
President Cyril Ramaphosa hailed them as “miracle workers”.
But on Friday, the team of doctors who separated Limpopo’s conjoined twins on 29 January during complex surgery at Mankweng Hospital were mourning the loss of one of the babies.
Limpopo Premier Phophi Ramathuba announced on Friday that one of the boys had died from complications linked to infections.
She received a call in the early hours of Friday morning informing her that one of the twins had gone into multiple organ failure.
“We do have sad news. One of our twins, unfortunately, experienced multiple organ failure. The team tried everything in their level best, but our baby succumbed and has passed on,” the premier said.
Speaking at Mankweng Hospital, Ramathuba said the death was a devastating blow.
“It is supposed to be Good Friday, but it is not a good one for us. It is indeed a painful and sad one,” she added.
The death comes just weeks after the province celebrated what was described as a medical milestone – an eight-hour operation led by Professor Nyaweleni Tshifularo to separate the boys.
This marked the first time such a complex procedure had been performed at a rural hospital in South Africa.
At the time, President Cyril Ramaphosa phoned into a media briefing to commend the team.
He said:
The nation is filled with pride that at a rural hospital, you have succeeded. You are real miracle workers, you are our heroes.
Tshifularo, addressing the media alongside Ramathuba on Friday, said the surgical phase had been executed successfully, but the danger had always lain in the post-operative period.
“We prepared very well. We operated on them; we separated very well. It is within that stage that we had problems,” he said.
He added that complications had emerged around day five after the operation, when both babies developed infections.
“It was so bad that we felt maybe something is not right inside. We need to go back to theatre. We checked, and we were happy that the babies were fine. We came back and continued fighting the infection,” Tshifularo said.
According to Tshifularo, the medical team managed to stabilise one of the twins, but the other one had not responded to treatment.
“We won with one, but with the other one, we didn’t win. We fought for the baby, but one could not win,” he said.
Ramathuba said the twin who died had shown signs of recovery after undergoing further procedures, raising hopes that the worst had passed.
“At some stage we thought we were out of danger. But in the past two days, the condition changed, and last night it deteriorated.”
READ | How Limpopo doctors made provincial history by separating conjoined twins
She added that infections remained a leading cause of death among neonates, particularly in the critical weeks following major surgery.
“Even for adults, post-operative infections can lead to complications, organ failure and death,” Ramathuba said.
She said they had not ruled out conducting a post-mortem to determine the precise cause of death.
“We must check what could have happened, whether anything went wrong on our side. We do not want to speculate.”
Despite the loss, both Ramathuba and Tshifularo defended the surgical intervention and insisted the separation itself had been successful.
Ramathuba added:
The surgery was a success. The babies were separated. Unfortunately, infections set in.
Tshifularo added that the team had followed every protocol in preparing for the operation, including seven multidisciplinary planning sessions and simulation exercises.
“If another opportunity happens like this, we will carry on. We did everything right,” he said.
Ramathuba said the surviving twin remained under close medical supervision and was showing signs of recovery.
“Twin B has been extubated, is breathing on his own and is stable,” she added.
She appealed to the public to respect the family’s privacy and offer support.
“This is not the time for insensitive comments. It is a time to pray for the family and allow them space to mourn,” she said.
Tankiso Makhetha
www.news24.com
