Conjoined twins born in Mombasa die before being flown to Nairobi
A nurse at Coast Provincial General Hospital attends to the conjoined twins born on Thursday morning. The twins died early Sunday before they could be flown to Nairobi for specialised treatment. FILE PHOTO | WACHIRA MWANGI | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- CPGH chief administrator Dr Iqbal Khandwalla said they tried all they could to save but the efforts were unsuccessful.
- The twin boys born on Thursday morning were joined at the abdomen.
- They were due to be flown to Nairobi by the Amref flying doctors for urgent surgery.
Two conjoined twins born at the Coast Provincial General Hospital in Mombasa died early Sunday morning.
The babies born Thursday and who were due to be flown to Kenyatta National Hospital for specialised treatment died while at the ICU despite doctors’ efforts to resuscitate them.
Confirming their deaths, CPGH chief administrator Dr Iqbal Khandwalla told the Nation.co.ke that they tried all they could to save but the efforts were unsuccessful.
"The twins passed on last night at about 12.30am, one was doing poorly and since they were connected, the other one also followed. We had a full team there including the anaesthetist; we tried our best but they still died.
“Such babies are delicate, they have congenital complications, major blood vessels were shared, and the liver was shared. They were joined from the chest downwards,” said Dr Khandwalla.
The twin boys born on Thursday morning were joined at the abdomen and were to be flown to Nairobi by the Amref flying doctors for urgent surgery.
Dr Khandwalla said the babies were being fed through intravenous tubes.
“You don’t breastfeed such babies, they were being fed through intravenous tubes,” he said.
He added that their mother’s condition was good and stable as she went through a caesarean section, which he termed ‘normal’.
