KGH surgeons make history

Visakhapatnam, Oct 31:In a complex operation,the first of its kind ever performed in Andhra Pradesh a 12-member team of surgeons successfully removed the second head of a baby at King George Hospital in Visakhapatnam on Saturday.The team of surgeons led by Dr Janardhana Rao, a paediatric surgeon,performed  the operation on a  two-day-old baby in nearly 3 hours.After performing the  operation he heaved a sigh of relief  and  said  that it went on,smoothly and  successfully."The baby is doing well.The surgery is over and her head and extra hands have been removed," said Janardhana Rao in  a tone  of  ecstacy.

The second head, a partially formed twin that doctors said threatened the girl's development,had its own partly developed brain,ears,eyes and lips.Twelve surgeons, nurses and doctors took several rotations to separate the undeveloped tissue,clip the veins and arteries, and close the skull using a bone graft from another part of baby's body.Talking to media persons after the surgery,Dr Janardhana Rao said that the surgery was a complicated one because the two heads share arteries.One more surgery would be performed on the baby in due course of time to  keep the bay normal,he added The  proud parents of this miracle child are Sanyasi Rao and Varalakshmi who hail from Kondakalra Ava village in Achyuthapuram mandal.This baby is their,second child.