Zimbabwean paediatric surgeon Dr Bothwell Mbuwayesango led a successful separation of conjoined twins in an 18-hour complex surgery performed at Sally Mugabe Hospital formerly known as Harare Central Hospital.

The conjoined twin girls, Anotidaishe and Anotipaishe were joined at the abdominal pelvic region sharing a liver and some parts of their intestines, which made the operation exceptionally difficult. The twins were born three months ago in the area called Banket located in Mashonaland West to peasant farmer parents.

In a press statement, Sally Mugabe Central Hospital said the hospital was pleased to announce that its healthcare staff had managed to effectively separate the conjoined twins on 23 February at the age of 73 days.
The statement correspondingly read that:

“The procedure took a gruelling 18 hours to accomplish and both babies are in a stable condition with one of them fairing much better than the other.”

In Zimbabwe, not more than five cases of conjoined twins have been recorded since 1980.

In 2014, most of the paediatricians, anaesthetists, neonatologists and nurses led by celebrated paediatrician Dr Mbuwayesango were once more involved in a similar operation to separate conjoined twins.

The twin boys named Kupakwashe and Tapiwanashe, were born in April 2014 and were joined from the lower chest to the upper abdomen and shared a liver. The successful separation was then conducted on July 1, 2014 by the team that worked with Dr Mbuwayesango.

In Africa, this year South Africa has been recognized as one of the pioneers of the practice of pediatric surgery.