The AIIMS authorities, in their reply to the National Commission for Scheduled Tribe (NCST), have said that for the first time in the history of AIIMS-New Delhi, a craniopagus surgery was conducted on Jaga and Kalia to separate their head. While the health of Jaga has substantially improved, that of Kalia has been gradual and he is now started taking normal food. The parents and the attendants can now conduct his physiotherapy without the help of the doctors, they said.
Since the nerve of Kalia is weak, his road to recovery will be long, they added.
Stating that there has been no political difference between the Odisha government and the Centre regarding the financial assistance for the treatment of the separated conjoined twins, the AIIMS authorities said the twins will get similar treatment facilities in AIIMS-Bhubaneswar, SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack and the district headquarters hospitals in Odisha after being discharged from here.
They also pointed out that the parents of the Jaga-Kalia, who have stayed away from their native place for more than a year, also need to take care of their other two children.
It may be noted that following the decision of the AIIMS authorities to discharge the separate conjoined twins from their institute with a suggestion to the parents to continue their treatment in Odisha, Supreme Court lawyer and social activist Radhakanta Tripathy had filed a petition in the NCST claiming that the treatment facilities for the twins are not available in Odisha.
The petitioner had sought the intervention of the Commission in the matter with a request to direct the AIIMS-New Delhi to continue the treatment of the twins. Acting on the petition, the Commission had a sought a reply from the AIIMS authorities.