Normally referred to as “nsuoba”
(baby of deities – usually made up of any newborn with congenital deformities
and with special needs may not look “normal”), they are most often sacrificed
to the gods or deities and left to die in the forest or by water bodies in this
part of the world.
Their mother calls them Nhyiraba
(daughter of blessing in Akan language), are Siamese twins who were delivered
in the Eastern Region of Ghana and referred to the Mother-Baby-Unit of the
Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital for stabilization and further management.
Following emergency surgical procedure by paediatric surgeons, led by Dr.
Micheal Amoah with support from Dr. Boateng Nimako and Yifeayi, they managed to
separate them successfully.
Without the surgery both could have
died.
The twins were joined at the
umbilicus (omphalopalagus) the third most common type, shared a common bladder,
large intestines with other abnormalities). The surgery lasted over 5 hours
after which the surgeons and anesthesiologist handed them over to the
intensivist to continue their recovery.
This is the third of such surgeries
to be done at that hospital’s Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) . The PICU
provided specialized intensive care services for the two Nhyirabas.
In spite of the many constraints
faced by this young unit of the hospital, including over-stretched nursing and
medical stuff and equipment, they still gave the best care, comparative to any
system in the world which required that some hard working staff had to be
called back from leave to assist.
After 9 days in PICU one survived
and was discharge. Unfortunately the younger suffered tears in her intestines
leading to her demise.
The mother and grandma nonetheless
are grateful to all who assisted and contributed in diverse ways to support
them.
By: Citifmonline
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