Twins conjoined at head separated by Hungarian doctors

The Associated Press

5 years ago

In this Jan. 7, 2019 photograph provided by Action for Defenceless People Foundation, Hungarian ... — In this Jan. 7, 2019 photograph provided by Action for Defenceless People Foundation, Hungarian doctors Gergely Pataki, left, and Andras Csokay pose together with Rabeya and Rukaya, two Bangladeshi girls who were born conjoined at the head in Budapest, Hungary. Two Bangladeshi girls who were born conjoined at the head have been successfully separated by a medical team led by 35 Hungarian doctors and were in a stable condition after the 30-hour procedure ended Friday, Aug. 2, 2019 at a military hospital in Dhaka, the Bangladeshi capital.(Miklos Bemer/Action for Defenceless People Foundation via AP)

In this Aug. 1, 2019 photo provided by Action for Defenceless People Foundation, Hungarian doctors Gergely Pataki, left, and Andras Csokay perform separation surgery on Rabeya and Rukaya, two Bangladeshi girls who were born conjoined at the head in a military hospital in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Two Bangladeshi girls who were born conjoined at the head have been successfully separated by a medical team led by 35 Hungarian doctors and were in a stable condition after the 30-hour procedure ended Friday, Aug. 2, 2019 at a military hospital in Dhaka, the Bangladeshi capital. (Andras Ungor/Action for Defenceless People Foundation via AP)

CAPTION CORRECTS BYLINE CREDIT In this Aug. 1, 2019 photo provided by Action for Defenceless People Foundation, Hungarian doctor Andras Csokay performs separation surgery under a microscope on Rabeya and Rukaya, two Bangladeshi girls who were born conjoined at the head in a military hospital in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Two Bangladeshi girls who were born conjoined at the head have been successfully separated by a medical team led by 35 Hungarian doctors and were in a stable condition after the 30-hour procedure ended Friday, Aug. 2, 2019 at a military hospital in Dhaka, the Bangladeshi capital. (Andras Taborosi /Action for Defenceless People Foundation via AP)

CAPTION CORRECTS BYLINE CREDIT In this Aug. 1, 2019 photo provided by Action for Defenceless People Foundation, Hungarian doctors Rabeya and Rukaya, two Bangladeshi girls who were born conjoined at the head, lie in beds under supervision by Hungarian anesthesiologists, in a military hospital in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Two Bangladeshi girls who were born conjoined at the head have been successfully separated by a medical team led by 35 Hungarian doctors and were in a stable condition after the 30-hour procedure ended Friday, Aug. 2, 2019 at a military hospital in Dhaka, the Bangladeshi capital. (Action for Defenceless People Foundation via AP)

BUDAPEST, Hungary — Two Bangladeshi girls who were born conjoined at the head have been successfully separated by a medical team led by 35 Hungarian doctors.

The 3-year-old sisters, Rabeya and Rukaya, were in a stable condition after the 30-hour procedure ended Friday at a military hospital in Dhaka, the Bangladeshi capital.

The medical team of a Hungarian charity, Action for Defenceless People Foundation, was led by Dr. Andras Csokay.

The separation process dubbed “Operation Freedom” was a cooperative effort between doctors from both countries.

Three operations were needed to separate the girls.

The process began last year in Dhaka with the separation of the shared cerebral vein parts. Earlier this year, in Budapest, the twins were implanted with a special, Hungarian-designed system to expand their skin and soft tissue.