Aruna Rodrigues has tragically died in Brazil after surviving for seven months following a complex operation in May to separate her from her conjoined twin Kiraz who died days after the surgery
A conjoined twin has now tragically died after she initially survived a complicated operation to be separated from her sister.
Aruna Rodrigues died on Christmas Eve after her long hospitalisation following the complex procedure carried out in the city of Goiania, in the Brazilian state of Goias, in May to divide her from her sibling. Doctors confirmed Aruna died on December 24 after developing severe complications while being treated at the State Hospital for Children and Adolescents (Hecad) in Goiania.
Her sister Kiraz had already died just days after the separation surgery in May. The separation operation lasted 19 hours and involved a large multidisciplinary medical team, hospital officials said.
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Aruna and Kiraz were 18 months old at the time of the surgery and had been born conjoined at the thorax, abdomen and pelvis. Lead surgeon Zacharias Calil announced Aruna’s death in a message shared on social media on the night of December 24 saying it was with “immense pain for all of us”.
He wrote: “Today, God decided to relieve Aruna’s suffering and took her to be close to her sister Kiraz, an immense pain for all of us, especially for this family that fought with courage, faith and love for their Siamese twins.”
Aruna’s father, Alessandro Rodrigues, also took to social media where he said his daughter had been transferred from intensive care to a hospital ward earlier this month before developing an infection, followed by a viral illness.
He said: “Our baby went through several procedures and several surgeries and she managed to overcome all of them, unfortunately, she did not overcome this last one, which was leaving the intensive care unit for the ward.”
Hospital officials said Aruna had shown signs of improvement after seven months of daily monitoring and was moved to the ward on December 10. They said she later developed severe respiratory complications and was transferred back to intensive care.
Doctors diagnosed a viral infection and confirmed she died from septic shock at 3:51pm on December 24, despite all medical efforts. In a statement, the hospital said it had provided full medical and psychological support to Aruna and her family throughout her treatment.
The hospital added that it continues to provide psychological assistance to the family and asked for privacy during the mourning period.