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Although with somewhat of a sad ending, the groundbreaking surgery performed by a medical team at Mankweng Hospital separating conjoined twins was a demonstration of the reliability of South Africa’s public healthcare system and the capacity of the state.
Last month surgeons at Mankweng Hospital in Limpopo successfully performed an 8 hours-long separation of conjoined twin boys joined at the abdomen, sharing a liver and intestines.
Professor Nyawaleni Tahifularo led the one of-its-kind procedure that highlighted major public healthcare capacity, though one twin later passed away from post surgery complications prompting authorities to airlift the surviving boy to a Gauteng medical facility.
The decision to move Twin B, as the surviving baby is currently identified as followed a high level meeting that included Premier Phophi Ramathuba and Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi along with senior medical practitioners.
The Premier’s office said the move was based on consideration of trauma flowing from the emotional attachment the Limpopo team had developed an attachment to the babies having been part of their successful separation making it necessary for another team of professionals to continue post surgery care of the baby who so far authorities report as stable.
Both Ramathuba and Motsoaledi said the deceased twin appear to have been overwhelmed by exposure to numerous people who sneaked into the hospital to see the babies.
For the purpose of this editorial comment, the exact cause of Baby A’s death is of no consequences. What is important is that a pregnancy went wrong and a public health facility within the province of Limpopo, where it happened, was adequate to respond to it. Yes the end was tragic in that one baby later died but the achievement cannot be discounted, be it the professionals or the facilities they used, they both were of the required standards equal to those of the first world.
This puts South Africa in good stead to not just introduce but sustain the much anticipated National Health Insurance which will result in equal access to health, it is possible, Limpopo has proven it.
