After 50 hours of surgery, conjoined twins joined at skull, successfully separated

Washington, July 17: Rare conjoined twins who were connected by their skulls have been separated by surgeons after 50 hours of operations at a London hospital. Two-year-old sisters Safa and Marwa Ullah had to undergo three major operations at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) to separate their heads.

Safa and Marwa Ullah were born by C-section with their skulls and blood vessels fused together.

The first operation took place in October 2018, when the girls, from Charsadda, in Pakistan, were just 19 months old. They were finally separated during their last operation on 11 February this year.

According to report, it was learnt that during the surgery, Medics at Great Ormond Street Hospital first worked to separate the girls' blood vessels and then inserted a piece of plastic into their heads to keep the brains and blood vessels apart.

The final major operation involved medics building new skulls using the girls' own bone. They also used tissue expanders to ensure the girls' own skin would stretch over the top of each of their heads.

The surgery, which was paid for by a private donor, has been followed by several smaller procedures to enable the girls to live independent lives.

The operations added up to more than 50 hours of surgery time and involved 100 members of staff from Great Ormond Street.

The surgery, which was paid for by a private donor, has been followed by several smaller procedures to enable the girls to live independent lives.

According to report, the girls' mum, Zainab Bibi, 34, said: "We are indebted to the hospital and to the staff and we would like to thank them for everything they have done. We are extremely excited about the future."

The girls, whose father died of a heart attack while their mother was pregnant with them, were discharged from hospital on 1 July.

They have now moved to an address in London with their mother, grandfather Mohammad Sadat Hussain, 57, and uncle, Mohammad Idrees.

Conjoined twins are very rare, affecting only about one in every 2.5million births. Just 5 per cent of conjoined twins are craniopagus, which means they are joined at the head.