The conjoined twins – Rabeya and Rukaya – who were born with their heads joined, have been living healthy lives for the last one year following their milestone surgery last year and are currently undergoing treatment in Dhaka’s Combined Military Hospital (CMH).
As part of the continuous treatment, Rabeya underwent cranioplasty surgery on October 27. The operation was conducted by military and civilian doctors of the country, in the presence of four doctors from Hungary, said a media statement from Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) on Wednesday.
Rabeya has been undergoing treatment at CMH Dhaka's Post-Operative Ward for the last six days.
Rabeya is in healthy condition and can talk almost normally and even wants to play games. However, Rukaya has some nervous weaknesses due to which she is still unable to properly speak or walk. She is able, though, to take food on her own and understand words, the statement said.
Rabeya and Rukaya were born on July 16, 2016 in Pabna as craniopagus twins, also known as conjoined twins.
The twin’s parents – Md Rafiqul Islam and Taslima Begum – were facing social stigma following the birth of their daughters,. The report drew the attention of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who entrusted the Bangladesh Army with the responsibility of carrying out the necessary medical treatment, the statement read.
Rabeya and Rukaya had surgery which separated their skulls and brains in August 2019. The surgery lasted 33 hours and involved more than a hundred surgeons and anaesthetists from home and abroad.
It was the first successful surgery of its kind in Bangladesh and 17th in the world.
The twins suffered from a rare embryological disorder affecting an estimated one in every five to six million births.
