Balia on ventilator, doctors say flu, breathing problems

“When he was brought to the hospital, he was in a vegetative state. He had fever and frequent seizures. His condition improved later. But a few days ago, the fever returned with respiratory discomfort. Suddenly, he suffered respiratory dyspnea (shortness of breath) and was incubated immediately,” said Dr Sudhanshu S Mishra, professor and HOD of Neurosurgery at SCB Medical College.

The twins were admitted to AIIMS on July 13, 2017. The first phase of the surgery to separate them was performed on August 28, when doctors created a venous bypass to separate veins that return blood to the heart from the brain. The final separation was done on October 25 in a 20-hour operation. During the surgery, Jagga suffered a cardiac arrest but was revived.

Dr Mishra said, “He (Balia) is better than yesterday. We are trying our best to keep him fine. We are not sure we will succeed but we will keep trying. This is one of the rarest cases.”
Doctors in AIIMS said they will hold a video-conference with doctors in Cuttack to understand the situation.