A team of doctors and surgeons in Ethiopia have successfully surgery to separate a parasitic twin from adolescent girl, reports Ezaga.

The surgery, which is first of its kind in Ethiopia, took 8 hours at CURE Hospital in Addis Ababa on June 27, 2012.

During press conference on July 2 at CURE hospital, the team announced that the girl was born with incomplete twin, called a parasitic twin attached to her pelvis.

As a result, she had a conjoint body with incompletely developed arms, two additional developed legs, additional vagina, bladder, and kidney. Only 1 in 10 million people are born with this rare condition.

According to Dr. Eric Gocken, Medical Director at CURE hospital, parasitic twins occur when a twin embryo begins developing in utero. However, the pair does not fully separate, and one embryo maintains dominant development at the expense of the other. The under-developed twin is parasitic, rather than conjoined, because it is incompletely formed or wholly dependant on the body functions of the complete fetus.

According to Dr. Biruk Lambisso, Associate Professor of Obstetrics, and Gynecology at Black Lion Hospital in Addis Ababa, the surgery was successful because of strong teamwork. “Some people threatened us not to do the surgery and we don’t have skill or the necessary equipments. Others advised to send her to another country. Some even offered to cover her expense for a surgery outside Ethiopia. But as a team we studied the case and prepared ourselves to any worst scenario. Many people were part of the team for the success and we thank them for their cooperation’’

The 17 years old girl, Workitu lived near Addis Ababa, in Sebeta area. However, her families failed to take her to a hospital or consult a physician. The stigma and cultural condemnations made everyone around her (and herself included) believe it was a curse.