Zimbabwe: successful operation to separate conjoined twins

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/10/zimbabwe-conjoined-twins-operation

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Zimbabwean surgeons have successfully separated conjoined twin babies, a first for the country's run-down health service and an achievement that has been hailed by the president, Robert Mugabe.

"The surgery went very well," Bothwell Mbuwayesango, the surgeon who led the team of 50 medical personnel, told AFP. "The babies are fine and are doing very well."

The two-month-old twins were joined from the chest to the upper abdomen and shared a liver. They were separated in an eight-hour operation at a state hospital in the capital, Harare, last week.

Surgical separations have been carried out for decades elsewhere, but with Zimbabwe's state hospitals widely criticised for lacking vital equipment and drugs, politicians have jumped on this achievement.

Mugabe visited the twins and congratulated the all-local medical team who operated on the babies.

"I am overwhelmed," he said. "Congratulations to the entire team. You have done the nation proud."

Mugabe blames the poor state of health facilities on sanctions imposed by the EU and US, whichaccuse him of rights abuses and electoral fraud.