WATCH | Nigerian conjoined twins separated in gruelling 13-hour operation
Image: Via Twitter/BBC Africa News
At least 78 medical practitioners were involved in a 13-hour surgical procedure to separate Nigerian twin girls Goodness and Mercy Martins.
The twins were joined from the chest and abdomen and shared a liver and diaphragm, reported United Press International.
The operation took place in November at the National Hospital in Nigeria's capital Abuja.
Mercy and Goodness were born by Caesarean section in August 2018, with a large blood vessel connecting their hearts through their chest walls.
BBC News Africa reported that the mother of the twins, Maria Onya Martins, shared her experience of waiting for her infant twins to come out of surgery.
"Very relieved, very happy."
— BBC News Africa (@BBCAfrica) January 14, 2020
Conjoined twins Goodness and Mercy Martins were joined at the chest and abdomen, and shared a liver and diaphragm. Their mother Maria Onya Martins shares what she went through during the surgery that separated them. pic.twitter.com/A7yFadhjrn
She also shared how she had never heard of conjoined twins and thought she was cursed and less of a woman.
Martins added that when doctors explained the condition of Mercy and Goodness in medical terms, she felt better.
The operation is said to have cost $55,000 (R790,000) but the hospital did it for free as the Martins family could not afford the bill.
"My husband, my entire family, we are very relieved... We could not get or make up that money. Very relieved, very happy," she added.