New Delhi: The separated conjoined twins from Odisha, Jaga and Kalia, who had been admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, for more than a year ago, would be discharged on a date as per the recommendation of the doctors’ team that visited the hospital Friday.
State Health Minister Pratap Jena, Bhubaneswar MP Prasanna Patsani and a panel of five doctors from Odisha visited the premier healthcare facility and took stock of the twins’ health conditions. Jena later told reporters here that he had urged the AIIMS authorities to keep Kalia for some more days to ensure he is discharged after complete recovery.
“Jaga is recovering fast, but Kalia has not recovered as per our expectations. The five-member doctors’ team from Odisha that came with me talked to the team of doctors from AIIMS. More discussions will follow,” said Jena.
When asked if Jaga is healthy enough to be discharged, he said, “We will discuss to find out if it is feasible to discharge them separately. We have got good response from the AIIMS administration and they helped us a lot in their treatment. This is one of the historic medical cases of India and this is the first time the twins have survived post surgery.”
Doctors at AIIMS looking after the twins, however, believe that the twins are medically fit for discharge. “Both the kids are doing well. Jaga is in good condition. However, cranioplasty (surgical rectification of skull) is needed which could be done later.
Kalia’s brain has not developed fully and he will need some more time. But we do not need long hospitalisation for a kid to improve his brain,” Dr Girija Prasad Rath told Orissa POST.
He also said, “They could even be discharged today and post nursing care could be given at home. But the final decision needed to be taken as per a consensus and the discharge date would be finalised after the Odisha doctors’ visit report is given to the state government and the steps the state takes accordingly.
State docs’ report to decide Jaga-Kalia’s discharge
