A Melbourne mother's decision to let doctors perform a dangerous operation inside her womb has saved the lives of her twins. Lucy and Polly arrived last month after a rare condition saw one twin thrive and the other fail to grow.
A Melbourne mother's decision to let doctors perform a dangerous operation inside her womb has saved the lives of her twins.
Lucy and Polly arrived last month after a rare condition saw one twin thrive and the other fail to grow.
Hiranthi Wijesinha has been by her twin daughters' beds since their arrival nine weeks early.
But the fact that she gets to stare at both Polly and Lucy is a medical marvel.
I'm not very religious but, yeah, the word "miracle" - you can't help but use that word, really.
The 16-week scan showed that larger twin, Polly, was growing well, but sister Lucy wasn't.
At 23 weeks, surgeons used laser energy to burn a line down the centre of the placenta to divide its blood cells.
Polly continued to thrive and Lucy was stabilised after receiving more red blood cells.
At 31 weeks, an MRI scan confirmed Lucy's brain wasn't developing and the decision was made to deliver them both.
Lucy was in a very fragile situation and her chances of survival were considered very small.
The risky laser operation to give the girls some much-needed time in the womb was performed by a team of Melbourne surgeons.
Polly will leave the Royal Women's on Monday but will return every day to see her little sister.
Lucy will stay on at the Newborn Intensive Special Care unit for several months until her feeding and breathing improves.
In the long term, the expectation is that she'll do very, very well.
And now there are plans for the future.
I just want them to be.
.
.
.
.
strong, independent women.
They're already a pair of fighters.
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