Formerly conjoined twins leave Australian hospital after successfully being separated

Two twin baby girls from Bhutan have finally left hospital in Australia after being separated earlier this month.

Nima and Dawa were joined from the lower chest to above the pelvis at the time of their birth 15 months ago. They were successfully separated in an operation on 9 November at Melbourne's Royal Children’s Hospital. Less than three weeks later, their mother Bhumchu Zangmo has been able to check her girls out. "The twins have made an excellent recovery and they are now starting to act independently and move around,” lead paediatric surgeon Joe Crameri said upon the babies' discharge. “I was pleased to see they were somewhat smiling." The girls initially struggled to adjust to not being joined together, he said. "We saw them became incredibly anxious after the surgery once they knew their other twin was not immediately in front of them. “Over the last couple of weeks, we have seen them gain confidence, gain independence and gain a lot of strength.” Despite their success of their recovery, the girls still have a long way to go before they can return to their home country. They're due to spend time at the Children First Foundation outside Melbourne where they'll continue their rehabilitation.