Jerusalem hospital unable to separate conjoined twins
Babies connected at the chest and stomach and sharing internal organs return home to the PA with mother and grandmother
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A young Palestinian woman from the Hebron area returned home on Sunday with her conjoined newborn girls after doctors at Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem concluded that they would be unable to save the babies’ lives.
About a week ago, the Palestinian Ministry of Health coordinated with Israeli authorities to transfer the mother, who was in her final stage of pregnancy, to Jerusalem when it was discovered that the twins she was carrying were conjoined and the local hospital was unable to provide the medical care needed.
On Friday, the babies were delivered by Caesarean section, and after running all of the tests necessary to determine if they could be saved, Hadassah’s medical team determined that the case was hopeless.
Hadassah Ein Kerem said in a statement that “a multi-disciplinary team of top-notch experts delivered the babies by Caesarean section. The conjoined twins were born connected at the thorax and the stomach and share a heart, liver, and other internal organs.”
On Sunday, the hospital decided to return the babies home with their mother and grandmother, despite the fact that standard procedure is to keep the babies hospitalized. No official reason was given for the decision, but hospital officials said that the babies would not survive more than a few days.
The hospital statement said that the decision was reached in conjunction with the Palestinian doctors who had treated the woman throughout her pregnancy.
The Times of Israel Community.