I've been watching a Channel 4 Bodyshock programme about an Egyptian baby girl, Manar Maged, born 30 March 2004, in Aghur, Egypt - born with two heads. So strange, so rare. She was expertly cared for in hospital and then the time came when it was judged imperative to separate the 'parasitic' head from the girl because she was suffering by her body having to supply the other head's needs as well as her own needs.
A neurosurgeon said he would operate for free. He and the doctor in charge of the baby's hospital care spoke of their care and concern for the baby girl and clearly did care about her welfare. The staff also spoke with honesty about their desire that the world should see that they could perform this intricate, rare surgery successfully. The surgeon also explored his ethical and religious scruples with us, since the operation would inevitably cause the death of the parasitic head. He consulted the foremost religious leader in the country and was assured that to do the operation was the right course of action. He also spoke with colleagues in the profession who had performed similar surgery so that he might learn what he could of so rare a procedure.
The operation lasted 13 hours. It was even more difficult than they had expected, and the bleeding was a big problem, but the girl survived the operation. She took up a great deal of staff to look after her in hospital until she was well enough to be looked after at home by her mother.
Then she and her mother and the surgical and medical team travelled to America to appear on the Oprah Winfrey Show. - This was to obtain publicity and funding for the hospital, because the operation had cost the hospital a big chunk of its yearly allocation of money and they needed to try to recoup some of that money in order to treat other babies.
And then, unfortunately, we were told at the end of the programme, she was found to have a problem with water on the brain, which had been causing her to have fits and meant further surgery. But she was still alive.
Sadly, Manar died in March 2006 from a severe brain infection, 13 months after her operation.
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