Papua New Guinea conjoined twins Photo: Supplied / Manolos Aviation
A medical team from Australia is in Papua New Guinea assessing tiny conjoined twins who are fighting for survival.
The parents of six-week-old Tom and Sawong are desperate for their boys to be surgically separated, despite previous medical advice against it.
The twins, whose combined weight is only 2.9kg, were born in Morobe province on 9 October, joined at the abdomen.
They were flown by helicopter to Port Moresby General Hospital, where they received basic care in the neo-natal unit for five weeks.
Doctors had explored the possibility of flying them to Sydney for specialist care, but various plans fell through.
The hospital then did a u-turn earlier this month and advised the parents to stay in PNG, or risk one of both of them dying.
The family launched a global appeal for help and a week ago, the twins were moved to an intensive care unit at Paradise Private Hospital.
Tom and Sawong were born in Morobe province on 9 October, joined at the abdomen. Photo: Supplied / Manolos Aviation
A multidisciplinary team from Sydney Children's Hospital Network arrived in the capital on Thursday to begin examining the twins.
The team is working with its local counterparts as well as the Australian High Commission in Port Moresby.
"Their priority is gathering information and meeting with the family," a spokesperson for the network said.
"However, the medical team's assessment does not guarantee a medical transfer (to SCH) will take place."
The twins have spina bifida - a neural tube defect that affects the development of newborn's spine and spinal cord - and share a liver, bladder and portions of their gastrointestinal tract. Photo: Supplied / Port Moresby General Hospital
Port Moresby General Hospital's medical director Dr Kone Sobi said earlier this month that multiple discussions led to their final decision.
"The underlying thing is that both twins present with significant congenital anomalies and we feel that even with care and treatment in a highly specialised unit, the chances of survival are very very slim," Sobi said.
"In fact, the prognosis is extremely bad."
The twins have spina bifida - a neural tube defect that affects the development of newborn's spine and spinal cord - and share a liver, bladder and portions of their gastrointestinal tract.
Sobi said the medical complications made surgery dangerous.
"One of the twins (Tom) has a congenital heart defect, he also has only one kidney and we believe malformed lungs," he said.
"So one of the twins is doing a lot of the work in terms of supplying oxygen for the heart for the other one."
The twins' future was unpredictable, he said.
"It's a precarious condition for both, they both depend on each other really, where they go from here is anyone's guess.
Twins 'receiving 24-hour-a-day care'
Jurgen Ruh, the helicopter pilot and sponsor who initially flew the newborns to Port Moresby, said the twins were moved to Paradise Private Hospital to minimise the risk of cross-infection, including catching malaria.
"Where they were (in PMGH) there were premature babies, sick babies and a lot of (people) traffic in the busy neo-natal ward," Ruh said.
"Now they are in isolation, in a very sterile environment, receiving 24-hour-a-day care, so they are much safer," he said.
He said there were eight nurses and a paediatrician taking care of the boys and the parents were allowed to sleep in the twins' room.
"In the last month the weaker twin (Tom) has miraculously improved, he started crying two weeks ago and his lungs appear to have improved," Ruh said.
He said negotiations with a major university hospital in Freiburg, Germany continue.
The hospital was unable to provide free surgery and care but has secured funding from a number of NGOs he said.
