| ||
| ||
| ||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Operation to separate twins 'will happen'Hospital: Surgery 'on hold,' but donations coming in
(CNN) -- Surgery to separate conjoined 22-month-old Egyptian twins "will happen," says a spokesperson for the Children's Medical Center of Dallas, but it is "on hold" as the facility makes arrangements to pay for the operation. "The hospital is committed to doing the surgery," said the spokesperson, noting that donations have been coming in. Contrary to an earlier report, he said that the surgery was never in danger of being canceled. "I'm confident it will happen." The hospital is raising $125,000 to offset hard costs for services in which there is no reimbursement, he added. The hospital is estimating the procedure will cost in the neighborhood of $2 million, derived from figures calculated by Mattel Children's Hospital at the University of California at Los Angeles, which operated on a pair of Guatemalan twins in August 2002. The World Craniofacial Foundation, which is sponsoring the 22-month-old twins and conducting the fundraising, said it cannot afford the operation on its own. "One surgery could completely wipe out all the funds of the foundation," director Sue Blackwood told The Dallas Morning News for Wednesday's editions. The Associated Press reported that the twins were brought to Dallas 10 months ago by a surgical team at Medical City Dallas hospital. Doctors were to perform the surgery there, but after reviewing the boys' condition, they decided they preferred to operate at Children's because it has the needed technology, said Dr. Kenneth Salyer, a craniofacial specialist. The doctors are waiving their fees. The twins are joined at the crowns of their heads, the rarest type of conjunction, and complex surgery is needed to untangle blood vessels in the boys' brains. Doctors said the operation needs to happen soon. The older the boys become, the more their neurological tissue loses the ability to heal from the operation, they said. For now, they are staying at an apartment paid for by the World Craniofacial Foundation. Ibrahim Mohamed Ibrahim, the boys' father, said through a translator that he wants his boys separated, "so they can have a chance to live like any other human beings." If too little money is raised, he said he would still feel blessed. "I will take them home. I will take care of them," the father said. "My family will love them as always." Copyright 2003 CNN. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
