conjoined twins

Groundbreaking surgery was carried out in London this week as previously seperated conjoined twins were reunited. Teams worked through the day in shifts to perform the mammoth 72 hour surgery to rejoin them. The lead surgeon read a statement to the waiting cluster of well wishers and journalists once the complicated procedure was completed.

Hello everyone. I have a short statement to read and then I must return to my patient. I'm sure you'll understand if I don't answer questions at this time.

The surgery went very smoothly and we have successfully re-joined Pettin. He is in post operation recovery now but all of his vital signs are good and we are expecting him to make a full recovery.

The family has asked that people respect their privacy at this delicate time.

Thank-you

Martin and Peter Fhaam began the long process of becoming re-conjoined nearly a decade ago after they found out that their scars were not the result of a childhood misadventure. They have endured a seemingly endless series of counselling sessions, medical examinations and legal battles before doctors reluctantly agreed to perform the surgery.

Martin has previously blamed the stress of the process for the breakdown of his marriage and subsequent messy divorce. Peter has also faced a traumatic journey as, at first, he failed to come to terms with the decision his parents made to separate them as newborn children. In a rare interview television interview his anger at his parents bubbled over and he smashed up the set while screaming "Bastards stole half of me!" over and over again.

Despite these minor setbacks the siblings managed to argue their case successfully in the highest court of the land who agreed that splitting them without their express consent had been tantamount to a crime against their person and that, observing all the usual caveats, addenda, waivers and re-conjoining was suitable reparation.

All that is left to do at this stage is wait and, if you are religious, pray that the operation was a success and that they recover from the surgery and begin their new life, not as Martin and Peter Fhaam, but returned to the state in which they were born, as Pettin Fhaam.