Krishna and Trishna’s surgery underway

The surgery to separate conjoined twins Krishna and Trishna at The Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne is now underway.  The girls entered theatre at 8.30am morning. A media briefing is planned for 10.30am this morning, to be presented by plastic surgeons out the front of the hospital.

Plastic surgeon says twins’ surgery going well

Plastic surgeon Dr Tony Holmes has announced that the conjoined twins’ surgery is going smoothly and to plan. Dr Holmes said Krishna and Trishna were put to sleep last night to have their anaesthetic lines put in.  An angiogram was also performed for a final look at the blood vessels.  Krishna and Trishna remained sedated for … Continued

Neurosurgeons begin their work

RCH Chief of Surgery A/Professor Leo Donnan says Krishna and Trishna’s operation continues to run as planned. Neurosurgeon Wirginia Maixner has begun the procedure to separate the girls’ brains, which is expected to take some hours.  Once complete, the plastic surgeons will begin work to cover the brains. Artificial coverings will be used to cover … Continued

Surgery progressing nicely

RCH Director of Anaesthesia and Pain Management Dr Ian McKenzie has offered positive news, saying the twins’ operation is “progressing fantastically”. Dr McKenzie revealed that the neurosurgical team is still hard at work separating the brains.  The plastic surgery team will then separate the final part of the bone. He said that would not be … Continued

Conjoined twins prepare for surgery

Surgery to separate Bangladeshi conjoined twins Trishna and Krishna is planned to take place at The Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne next week.  A media briefing was held at the RCH at 10.30am today. Now almost three years old, the twins are joined at the head and were brought to Melbourne by Moira Kelly’s Children First … Continued

24 hours in ICU

Herald Sun medical reporter Grant McArthur and photographer Rebecca Michael spent an eye-opening 24 hours in The Royal Children’s Hospital Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). At 4pm Wednesday 4 November, Grant and Rebecca stepped foot in the PICU to witness the wonderful job our nurses do with critically ill patients. They emerged at 4pm on … Continued

Quit smoking around kids

The Hon Daniel Andrews, MP, Minister for Health launched a new anti-smoking ad campaign at The Royal Children’s Hospital today. The Quit Victoria campaign, titled ‘Cigarettes are eating you and your kids alive’ urges smokers to consider the health of their children before lighting up. The launch follows the release of new research by the … Continued

Waiting for the gift of life

Vilisunia Fakalata is eight months old and in desperate need of a liver transplant.  He has a rare condition called biliary atresia, which destroys the bile ducts preventing bile flow from the liver to the intestine. His family shared their story with Nine News. Australia has one of the lowest organ donation rates in the … Continued

Koda visits the kids

Patients at The Royal Children’s Hospital enjoyed a special visit from a tiny friend with a big heart yesterday. Koda the miniature pony clip-clopped his way through the corridors to say hello to the children of the orthopaedic ward. One-year-old Koda has dwarfism and weighs only 35kg.  Like the patients he visited, Koda’s had a … Continued

New model of care for Aboriginal children

The Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) celebrated the launch of a new model of care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and their families today.  The Honorable Daniel Andrews MP Minister for Health was a guest at the event. Other special guests included Aboriginal community elders Aunty Joy Murphy, who gave the welcome to country, … Continued