An Egyptian girl who survived a surgery to separate her head passed away yesterday due to a brain infection.
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Girl Manar Maged. (Photo: BBC) |
Manar Maged experienced a rare phenomenon where a fetus split in the womb but did not fully develop into a set of twins. Her second head could smile and blink, but it could not operate independently.
Doctors in Cairo performed surgery to separate the parasitic head in February 2005 when she was just 10 months old. She passed away yesterday at the age of 2 after suffering from a severe fever.
“The girl was admitted in a very critical condition. She had a severe brain infection and could not survive,” said Abla el-Alfy, the pediatrician caring for Manar.
Doctors at Benha Children’s Hospital viewed Manar’s survival through the 13-hour surgery as a success. Her condition improved after the surgery, but she continued to suffer from various common infections.
The second head contained eyes, a nose, and a mouth, but it was not connected to any internal organs and could not think independently. This is one of the rarest cases of congenital malformations.
M.T.
