News / National
Zimbabwe siamese twins die of heart complications
09 Feb 2014 at 08:39hrs | Views
The Siamese twins born to a Kadoma woman a fortnight ago have died. The pair succumbed to heart complications at Harare Hospital, where they had been transferred to from Chegutu Hospital for specialist care.
The father of the boys, who were yet to be named, Mr Mabvuto Bero, confirmed the sad development to the Sunday Mail. "The boys died on Tuesday, a day after we had taken them for a scan," he said.
"The results had revealed that one of the twins had two heart chambers while the other had four normal chambers. "A specialist at Avenues Clinic, where we had the scan, told us that both boys had holes in their hearts, a condition that greatly reduced their chances of survival. "He told us that the heart conditions required a surgical operation in Canada. However, they died the following day after the scan."
A post-mortem confirmed that the boys succumbed to heart complications. Mr Bero added that the latest twist of events has left him a more perplexed man. "The birth and death of the twins has left a lot of unanswered questions. I don't know what is going to happen if my wife and I decide to have another child. Although the doctors have tried to explain to me in medical terms, I am still not convinced," he said. The mother of the twins, Ms Susan Shonhiwa (27), also spoke of her pain.
"My heart is overburdened. It's difficult to lose a child soon after birth and my situation is made worse by the fact that I am yet to recover from the caesarian operation I had. "I have no money to seek treatment . . . everything is just going wrong."
Siamese twins are defined by medical experts as a pair of identical twins born with their bodies joined at some point, a result of the incomplete division of the ovum the twins developed from. Such twins are rare and their occurrence is estimated to range from 1 in 50 000 births to 1 in 200 000 births.
The father of the boys, who were yet to be named, Mr Mabvuto Bero, confirmed the sad development to the Sunday Mail. "The boys died on Tuesday, a day after we had taken them for a scan," he said.
"The results had revealed that one of the twins had two heart chambers while the other had four normal chambers. "A specialist at Avenues Clinic, where we had the scan, told us that both boys had holes in their hearts, a condition that greatly reduced their chances of survival. "He told us that the heart conditions required a surgical operation in Canada. However, they died the following day after the scan."
A post-mortem confirmed that the boys succumbed to heart complications. Mr Bero added that the latest twist of events has left him a more perplexed man. "The birth and death of the twins has left a lot of unanswered questions. I don't know what is going to happen if my wife and I decide to have another child. Although the doctors have tried to explain to me in medical terms, I am still not convinced," he said. The mother of the twins, Ms Susan Shonhiwa (27), also spoke of her pain.
"My heart is overburdened. It's difficult to lose a child soon after birth and my situation is made worse by the fact that I am yet to recover from the caesarian operation I had. "I have no money to seek treatment . . . everything is just going wrong."
Siamese twins are defined by medical experts as a pair of identical twins born with their bodies joined at some point, a result of the incomplete division of the ovum the twins developed from. Such twins are rare and their occurrence is estimated to range from 1 in 50 000 births to 1 in 200 000 births.
Source - Sunday Mail
