Indian surgeons separate twins joined at the head

Surgeons in the Indian capital, Delhi, have separated twin boys who were conjoined at the tops of their heads.

Two-year-old Jaga and Kalia underwent 16 hours of surgery, and are now in the intensive care unit, doctors said.

A team of 30 doctors carried out the surgery - the first of its kind in India - at a state-run hospital.

The boys were born with shared blood vessels and brain tissues, a very rare condition that occurs once in about three million births.

The director of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Randeep Guleria, told the Press Trust of India that the "next 18 days would be extremely critical to ascertain the success of the surgery".

The twins, hailing from a village in eastern Orissa state, were joined at the head - a condition known as craniopagus.

Even before the operation they had defeated the odds; craniopagus occurs in one in three million births, and 50% of those affected die within 24 hours, doctors say.

(Image caption :Doctors say the condition of the boys remains critical)

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