Iranian twins fused at the head to be seperated

Singapore doctors say they will go ahead with a risky operation to separate Iranian sisters joined at the head for 28 years after extensive tests showed the surgery was feasible.

Twins fused at the head occur once in every two million live births and successful separation is even rarer.

Laleh and Ladan Bijani have had a battery of tests since arriving in Singapore on November 22 in hopes of eventually living individual lives.

Dr Keith Goh, lead surgeon for the operation, will be joined by Ben Carson, director of paediatric neurosurgery at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions in Baltimore.

Two years ago doctors at Singapore General Hospital disentangled the fused skulls and intertwined brains of 11-month-old Nepali girls Jamuna and Ganga Shrestha in a four-day operation.

The Iranian sisters have separately functioning brains encased in one skull.