Separation
In 1996, they traveled to Germany, trying to convince doctors there to separate them; the German doctors however declined to operate, saying that the risk of separation surgery would be too high for both of them.
In November 2002, after meeting Dr. Keith Goh, a Singaporean neurosurgeon who successfully separated the Shrestha sisters from Nepal (Ganga and Jamuna), who had previously also been joined at the head, the Bijani sisters travelled to Singapore to undergo the controversial operation. Even though they were warned by the doctors that the surgery to separate them would still be very risky, the sisters were very determined. Their decision to go ahead with the operation caused an international media blitz.
After seven months in the Southeast Asian country doing extensive psychiatric and legal evaluations, they underwent surgery on July 6, 2003, under the care of a large team of international specialists at Raffles Hospital, composed of 28 surgeons (including world-renowned neurosurgeon Ben Carson) and more than 100 support staff working in shifts. A specially-designed chair was required that allowed the operation to be performed with both sisters in a sitting position.
The attempt to separate the twins turned out to be very difficult, because their brains not only shared a major vein (the superior sagittal sinus), but had fused together. The separation was achieved on July 8, 2003, but it was announced then that the twins were in critical condition, both having lost a large volume of blood due to complications of the operation.
The separation stage of the surgery completed at 13:30 (Singapore time, UTC +8), but there was significant blood loss during the blood vessel repairing process, and Ladan Bijani died at around 14:30 on the operating table; her sister Laleh died a short time afterwards at 16:00. The deaths were announced by the chairman of Raffles Hospital, Dr. Loo Choon Yong.
Read more about this topic: Ladan And Laleh Bijani
Famous quotes containing the word separation:
“On a subconscious level your child experiences separation from you as a “punishment.” And if he is to be “rewarded” with your return, he must be very good.... Eager for you to come back, your finicky son would probably eat liver if your baby-sitter served it, and he wouldn’t dream of resisting her at bathtime.”
—Cathy Rindner Tempelsman (20th century)
“A separation situation is different for adults than it is for children. When we were very young children, a physical separation was interpreted as a violation of our inalienable rights....As we grew older, the withdrawal of love, whether that meant being misunderstood, mislabeled or slighted, became the separation situation we responded to.”
—Roger Gould (20th century)
“... imprisonment itself, entailing loss of liberty, loss of citizenship, separation from family and loved ones, is punishment enough for most individuals, no matter how favorable the circumstances under which the time is passed.”
—Mary B. Harris (1874–1957)