Twins born joined at the abdomen and chest were successfully separated by doctors at Ho Chi Minh City Paediatric Hospital No.2 in co-operation with the City Heart Institute on December 19.

After a 10-hour operation, the twins were reported to be in good condition and hopes are high that they will recover in a week or so.

Dr Tran Van Thao, deputy head of the hospital, said the surgery took less time than expected because the twins were joined at the extreme of the liver, making surgery less complicated.

The twins were born in August at the Tu Du Obstetrics Hospital and brought to the Paediatric Hospital No.2 soon after.

They are the first children of a 23-year-old woman from central Ha Tinh province whose name was not released. She knew her babies were conjoined in the 36th week of pregnancy, but decided to have them because doctors felt the babies could be separated.

The Paediatric Hospital No.2 would support a part of the hospital fees for the surgery, Dinh said.

The rate of conjoined twins is around one in 50,000 births, he said.

Source: VNA