Joseph and Luka Banda
 | This article needs additional information. |
| Joseph and Luka Banda | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | January 23, 1997 Lusaka, Zambia |
| Known for | Conjoined twins |
Joseph Banda and Luka Banda (born January 23, 1997 in Lusaka, Zambia)[1] are twin brothers who were born type 2 vertical craniopagus twins. They were born joined at the back of the skull and faced in opposite directions. In December 1997, Dr. Ben Carson led a team of 50 Zambian and South African specialists to separate the 11-month-old twins in what was dubbed "Operation Impossible".
The team sang hymns to get them through the marathon procedure, and the 22-hour[2] operation was successful. "Soon after separation, the babies were seeing each other for the first time," said Dr. Tackson Lambart, of University Teaching Hospital (UTH), who was part of the Zambian team in the operation. The twins did not share any organs, but shared intricate blood vessels that flowed into each other's brains.
In 2001, the twins were fitted with artificial skulls to permanently close their heads, and are neurologically normal. In an interview, Dr. Carson stated about the operation:
- "In the end, the Bandas became the first Type 2 craniopagus twins (joined at the head and facing in opposite directions) ever separated with both surviving and both being neurologically normal."[3]
They are residing in Chilenje South in Lusaka.
References
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- ↑ Zambia: Zambian Siamese Twins Return Home Chibi Kubantu, Inter Press Service English News Wire 1998-04-09 (subscription required)
- ↑ Lua error in ...ribunto/includes/engines/LuaCommon/lualib/mwInit.lua at line 23: bad argument #1 to 'old_ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
- ↑ Lua error in ...ribunto/includes/engines/LuaCommon/lualib/mwInit.lua at line 23: bad argument #1 to 'old_ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
