The surviving conjoined twin, Jodie, was in a "critical but stable" condition in St Mary's Hospital, Manchester, last night after surgeons completed a 20hour operation to separate her from her weaker twin, Mary, who, as sadly predicted, died on the operating table.
With doctors warning that the next 48 hours would be extremely critical for Jodie, the Pro-Life Alliance condemned the hospital, insisting "there was never any possible chance of survival for Mary, as the medical team was perfectly aware". Jodie is now receiving post-operative care at the hospital's intensive care unit and while the operation went according to plan - separating the twins' blood vessels and fused spinal cord - she will need extensive skin grafts. Doctors acknowledge it is impossible to predict at this stage whether she will be able to lead a healthy life.
Marking the end of a lengthy legal battle by their Catholic parents and anti-abortion groups to stop the procedure, the operation to separate the twins began on Monday morning and involved a team of 20 surgeons and medics.
Progress reports on the operation were sent to the twins' parents, who are from the Maltese island of Gozo, throughout the procedure as they waited in a private room near the operating theatre. A group of Catholics opposed to the operation held a candle-lit vigil outside the hospital as surgeons separated Jodie, who was described as a bright, vibrant girl from the weaker Mary, who depended on her sister for her blood and oxygen supply.
The complex procedure ended at about 5 a.m. yesterday and took five hours longer than expected. Confirming that the operation had been completed and that Mary had "sadly" died, the hospital said in a statement: "As with all major surgery, the first few days are critical and our thoughts remain with Jodie and her parents."
The legal battle over this controversial operation began in August when the twins' parents, who have not been named, tried to prevent doctors at St Mary's from separating their daughters. They had travelled to Britain from Gozo for the birth under an agreement between the British and Maltese governments to offer medical facilities in Britain if they cannot be found on the Maltese islands.
The girls were born on August 8th but when doctors said they must be separated to give at least one of them the chance of survival the parents opposed the move in the High Court. However, the court ruled the operation could take place and a subsequent appeal by the parents to the Appeal Court also failed.
An 11th-hour attempt by the Pro-Life Alliance to stop the operation and bring an appeal to the House of Lords was rejected last week.
Prof Lewis Spitz, consultant paediatric surgeon at Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital in London, who has separated five sets of twins, said Jodie would now need "minute by minute" observation over the next two days and possibly in the coming weeks.
If Jodie survived, he said, her quality of life would depend on the functioning of her bowels, bladder and lower limbs: "It could range from a good quality of survival, where she can walk and function normally, to the other extreme of not being able to walk and being incontinent."