Thursday, April 25, 2024

Separating conjoined twins is just like performing circumcision, nothing to celebrate-Larry Mweetwa

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Surgeons at UTH during the operation
Surgeons at UTH during the operation

A Zambian medical expert based in the United Kingdom has attempted to dampen the celebrations across the country that has followed the successful separation of conjoined twins at UTH on Friday.

Larry Mweetwa, a Doctoral Expert in Pharmacy and a well known UPND cadre charged that conducting such operations has now become so easy with the advancement in medical technology.

Mr Mweetwa wondered why the entire nation is ecstatic about the operation when it is now very simple to separate conjoined twins.

He said the level of excitement that has followed the successful operation on the twins, Bupe and Mapalo goes to show the level of under development currently present in Zambia.

Mr Mweetwa said separating conjoined twins is now as simple as performing circumcision.

Below is Mr Mweeta’s full statement posted on his Facebook page

 

CONJOINED TWINS SURGERY NO LONGER ROCKET SCIENCE, WHATS THERE TO CELEBRATE ABOUT?

Yesterday I was bombarded with inbox texts asking me to explain in detail about the miracle that took place at UTH because ZNBC didn’t cover much detail.

Well it was the operation of babies who were joined at the tummy from birth! First congratulations to our doctors who carried the operation but success will only be judged by recovery of both twins. Well first and foremost may I put a disclaimer here that i am not a surgeon and may I also state here that this is not the first time this operation has taken place on an African soil. Luka and Joseph Banda were probably the first Siamese to be operated in 1998.

The thing I want to address though is the hype and excitement this caused and it made me have a reflection on our health system and made me feel sad. It just shows how backward our healthcare system is.

Not to take away from the surgeons who carried out the operation, kudos and job well done. But to be honest, conjoined twins surgery is no longer rocket science to cause this hype and jubilation.

A number of shithole countries have performed these surgical procedures. South Africa, Malawi, even apa pa Zaire or Congo.
The Zambian case was actually a simpler one or less complicated because it wasn’t a craniopagus (joined at the skull) which is more complex.

COMPLICATIONS OF THE PROCEDURE

1. Anaesthesia to make both twins sleep can be complicated.
2. Needs good judgement by surgeons.
3. Post surgical intervention and recovery rate is what determines success.

For you to understand the UTH case, I will first of all explain the complexity of craniopagus surgical operation.

SINGLE STAGE OPERATION APPROACH

Please allow me to use simple vernacular not ci medical so that nabakabova bali pa Facebook can understand. Kudaala iyi operation benze ku icita mu one stage operation or mitu nizogwilana. But problem iyalipo na approach iyi is that kambili nangu ntile ilingi ama twins aba bala cita share tuma veins. So because of this, during operation one of the twins will have to sacrifice draining the brain blood supply mechanism by giving one twin.

It a complex conservation mechanism which prevents blood flowing away from the parts of the brain deprived of their venous drainage, which in turn causes an increase in pressure in the brain, which eventually leads to brain damage or death.
So Iyi single stage operation especially kuno kubuzungu we have stopped using it. Because it has been proved to be quite fatal or have caused significant brain damage.

MULTI STAGE OPERATION APPROACH

Iyi iliko best, Multi-stage surgery separates the twins in stages. So ngati tuma twins batu cita operate muma stages so It has the effect of reducing the rise in venous pressure seen to a level that does not cause brain damage. So that vija brain gradually icita recover from the partial venous separation and so kukapita ce tuma days tun’gono, tu ma new venous channels open and the venous pressure returns to normal as blood flows away through these new channels. Once utu tuma venous pressure twabwelela ku normal, basi futi mwaba bweza for the next stage-operation can be undertaken and the process repeated. In this way, the brains are gradually and safely separated.

So based on the above explanation you can see the complexity of the operation, because in certain instances procedure will mean sacrificing one twin’s life to save another.

HOW DO THEY DO IT

OK apa peve sini nga name, technology ya cita improve, but the classic one I know is
the virtual toolbox, called BrainBench, which was developed by CieMed,a joint project between Hopkins and the National University of Singapore established in 1994. BrainBench combines many two-dimensional images of a patient’s brain obtained by CT or MRI into a single, three-dimensional virtual brain. The effect is like recombining slices of bread back into the original loaf. So vi ja Mu 3D ngati Ba cita operate it’s like in real brain wa igwila ku manja so.

The workbench ili na station ya computer na Ka monitor suspended so it projects brain images  olo kulangana pa bongo down onto the work area. So then doctor usama ma gilazi ali special and looks down through a chest-high glassscreen at the image of the patient’s brain. The glasses let the surgeon see the brain in three dimensions na mu mpanzu mpazu zyotatwe and BrainBench’scomputer program lets the operator manipulate the image of the3-D brain image as in a real operation. This makes it easy kwandaanya boongo atumizipe tunyamuna bulowa.

Coming back to the UTH case conducted yesterday, the demand or level of risk is not as severe as the skull joined twins as it was a simple stomach organ sharing, it was not even a ribcage shared kind. Here is a little background. In about 30% of cases, conjoined twins are joined at the chest, the most common form encountered. What would be shared between the twins?

In most cases conjoined twins will have tuma shared;
1.  Inter connected Intestines
2. Liver
3. Pericardium
4. Hepatic vein crossover etc.

So, separating these organs is not rocket science. This then opens a discussion that we need to advance our level of practising medicine if in 2018 conducting a conjoined twins surgery still makes huge headline news in a country then our level of practising medicine is still a shithole. It just demonstrates how backward we are at practicing medicine.

Let me put this into perspective, what we are cerebrating now is nothing, 20 years ago in 1999 on 7 July, Ghana made their first Siamese operation. Congo 15 years ago, Malawi another shithole country did it 5 years ago, surely as for me I see no sense to celebrate this but it just breaks my heart and makes me do an introspective analysis of our level of practising medicine and conclude to say we are still at a shithole level and PF must allocate more resources in cutting age medical technology training more Medical Doctors, Pharmacists, Nurses, Radiographers, Biomedical scientists and Physiotherapist.

Here are the unsung heroes whom you rarely hear about but are behind the success of any operation.

-Without an anaesthetist contributing their skills to sedate the patient, the Surgeon conducting the operation is nothing but a shithole Medical Practitioner.

-Without a MRI/CT Radiographer taking images of the patient, the Surgeon conducting the operation is nothing but a shithole Medical Practitioner.

-Without a Biomedical Scientist to carry out diagnosis and analysis of blood samples the patient, the Surgeon conducting the operation is nothing but a shithole Medical Practitioner.

-Without a theatre nurse who arranges the operating table and puts instruments, sutures etc in place, the Surgeon conducting the operation is nothing but a shithole Medical Practitioner.

-Without a physiotherapist contribution to help in the recovery process of the patient after surgery, the Surgeon conducting the operation is nothing but a shithole Medical practitioner.

– Without Pharmacists participating in multi disciplinary surgical patient management, the Surgeon conducting the operation is nothing but a shithole medical practitioner.

In civilised countries establishment of OR (Theatre) pharmacists has had a huge significance in patient recovery and adverse event reactions, teams in the preoperative area can reduce the incidence of adverse drug effects because the pharmacist can review orders prior to administration.
OR pharmacists can have a significant effect on hospital compliance with Surgical Care Improvement Project measures. Several regulatory compliance processes can be monitored and addressed daily by OR pharmacists. Initiating new processes and standardizing anaesthesia drug trays can decrease medication errors, improve organization of anaesthesia medications, and encourage safe injection practices. Another key role of the OR pharmacist is to manage narcotic dispensing and reconciliation processes that inhibit drug diversion. Inclusion of a pharmacist on the multidisciplinary OR team should be standard practice in all hospitals.

Larry L Mweetwa
A Doctoral Expert in Designing Antibiotics and ARVS

84 COMMENTS

  1. Now the evil bloggers will dismiss him and attack him simply bcuz he’s self identified as pro UPND.Never mind the milestone surgery.

    • I still maintain that operation was done by those white doctors….

      This is inferiority, mediocrity or anything but reality….

      Black human being is not capable of anything other witchcraft and sleeping around.

    • I didn’t know this mweetwa designs ARVs. Now it makes sense. He smokes a lot of them. He can never appreciate anything done by another zambian other than that done by him, upnd, hh or tongas. How did God create these creatures called homo-tongas?

    • This boy has a truly deranged mind!
      I blame the people who were asking the wrong person for advice.
      Shall we also assume that pharmacy is a dwindling area do to the many upcoming ngangas?
      Sometimes its best to decline commenting on issues you have no expertise.
      Mweetwa thinks talks and acts like a cow!

    • @Enka We shall attack him because he has no ubuntu in his blood. If these are people you celebrate then you need your head examined. You also have a problem of seeing things through the lenses of tribe and UPND. For you there is no world outside Tonga and UPND.

    • @Amagenge wrong, i’m actually 1/2 Tumbuka and my mother is not even from Zambia.So where does the Tonga nonsense come in?

    • This guy is a disgrace to Zambia how can a normal human being compare separating conjoint twins to that of cutting a foreskin which only need one person and one knife? Why so bitter about your country this is not politics the PF are quiet now because of him they will speak out denting the milestone gained in our country. From now on let him talk about the country he is living in not our country he seems not to be part of it

    • If someone can’t understand this zambianised explanation by Larry, awe ninshi katwishi, uyo muntu ninshi chakuposafye pachishala. Well explained.

    • What is the point of this article anyway? To show that Larry Mweetwa knows how to find stuff on the Internet and copy and paste? Or is it to insinuate that if a certain surgical procedure has been done or performed before by surgeons in other parts of the world then we HAVE NO RIGHT to celebrate when it is done in Zanbia by our own? What kind of warped n@nsense is that?

      Is this so called “doctoral expert…” saying that if China, for example, won the Football/Soccer World Cup they shouldn’t celebrate because Brazil has won the same cup many times before? Mostly people celebrate their first, doesn’t matter what it is or how many times it has been done before, and there is nothing wrong or backward about that.

      Whether others in Africa and beyond have done these sort of surgeries…

    • Continue:

      ….before, this is the first for Zambia and we have every right as a Country to celebrate and congratulate our Surgeons/Doctors for finally accomplishing what others have done and are doing within their borders….this shouldn’t be a source of shame but pride all around. And just the fact that the twins survived the surgery and are now recovering in the ICU is SUCCESS on it’s own. So stop bullsh!ting Larry!

      By the way, such Medical operations now being undertaken locally shows that our health care Systems are improving and moving forward. No longer do we have to spend millions of Kwachas referring such case abroad for treatment. And yes Mweetwa, next time it will be BRAIN SURGERY we will be talking about, and what are you going to complain about then? That we can not…

    • Continue:

      ….do heart surgery?But how shallow does that sound even to you?

      Cheer up man, you are just too negative for nothing. It wouldn’t cost you a thing by simply congratulating these hardworking Zambian doctors and pass on a prayer for the twins and leave it that. That would be nice for a change.Tt

    • Larry has a point in that not only the Doctors deserve credit, the effort is that of an entire team and not a few. However the skill set required by the surgeons was the most crucial element in the operation and much credit is due to them. To belittle the magnitude of this operation and the fact that the majority of surgeons including the Lead/ Head surgeon is and are Zambians is an achievement in itself and one Zambia should be proud of. Zambians should be proud to have any Zambian that can fly our flag high and show to the world that despite the many challenges we face we can still produce quality and world class professionals including the likes of other medical professionals such Larry Mweetwa. Speaking for myself I have a son practising Medicine in Denmark and is excelling even above…

    • This his opinion and he is entitled to his opinion.It has nothing to do with the tribe or party.He is merely giving his opinion as a pharmacist with Ph.D.
      So fellow bloggers avoid insulting innocent people.Mule inchidako bane

  2. This is true a sh!!thole brain at it’s work in all its glory. What a disgrace this man is to the Great Tonga Speaking People. This man is like ISIS is to the Muslim Religion. A total disgrace. You think you can perform this operation somewhere in the bush at a place called “Muganda” with some cheap traditional surgeons with unsterilized scissors and razors? People do this during circumcision ceremonies in villages and you have the audacity to compare this to circumcision? We celebrate things like winning elections and that can’t be compared to the expertise, effort and risk taken by these doctors to give the two babies a normal life. Yo are really a bitter person.

  3. That’s a total insult to neurosurgeons and pediatric specialiasts to compare this complex medical operation to
    a circumcision done in the bushes of itezhi tezhi.

  4. Just read the first paragraph and realised it is Dundumwezi cow dung!!! Anything progressive about the country is trashed by upnd. Moody’s upgrades country’s status, hh makes press conference accusing ECL of trying to benefit off privatizing state assets and yersterday Musokotwane does the same. UN praises the Cholera effort, this historical operation at UTH, now Mweetwa wants to trash it. Reality is while upnd is spewing their hate and anti PF propaganda, ECL /PF is scoring points and rolling. By the time upnd realise, it might be too late!!!

    • The point is why has there been decadence in this country? We were already scoring big successes even in areas like heart surgery as early as KK days. Why now a relatively straight forward action is seen like you have landed on planet Mars?

    • Please avoid sh.ithole type of politics.Larry Mweetwa maybe Tonga but his opinion is not representative of the BaTonga people or UPND.Respect yourself first if you want people to respect you.If I was a cadre I would have given you some unprintables but am not illiterate and uncivilized like you.

  5. This expert in designing antibiotics and ARV has a terrible inferiority complex. A terrible disporder needing sangoma intervention. Serving one life in any circumstance is worth celebrating. I doubt if he has feelings for the parents of the twins and medical personal who worked on the twons.
    If Ghana, Malawi etc did similar operations What is wrong with Zambians celebrating that they have also done it. Larry if the cure for AIDS will come through your work we shall celebrate it. Or if you will be gifted to produce a new antibiotic we shall cèlebrate with you. So do not trivialise great work of your brothers and sisters.

  6. Mweetwa is stupid and silly. How many countries in Africa has performed such operations apart from S.Africa and probably Egypt. On the contrary, he has accepted that Health Technology has increased in Zambia and that’s what we are celebrating. So, Bo Mweetwa remain with your inferiority complex.

  7. Larry you wanted to do medicine but flank. Whilst you may have a point that this was a relatively simpler version of separating conjoined twins, this is just bitterness you are exuding.

  8. ONLY A TONGA MUST LEAD UPND says Sejani. Mweetwa whatever you are called you are an *****, if you don’t appreciate what our hardworking medical personnel have achieved just shut up your beak. I don’t blame you because you are TONGA and this is typical of TONGA humanity- self-centered, I know it all mentality, bitterness, jealousy,tribalism anti- development,and you support tribal grouping called UPND. That’s why it can be a TERRIBLE MISTAKE to allow A TONGA to rule this nation, Tongas are not like these other Zambians, this tribe cant live side by side with other tribes. Zambians please wake and never vote for this tribalist HH and his tribal grouping UPND. TONGAS must learn to behave like other tribes to embrace the spirit of oneness embedded in ONE ZAMBIA, ONE PEOPLE, ONE NATION.

    • This is Larry’s opinion period.He is entitled to his opinion.It has nothing to do with the tribe or party.He is merely giving his opinion as a pharmacist with Ph.D.
      So fellow bloggers avoid insulting innocent people.So does it make you feel satisfied after insulting the Tongas?I have Tonga friends who I feel do not deserve such unjust comment just because of one Tonga ‘s opinion.He is wrong and now all Tongas have been painted with the same.Ababemba balitemwa ukusobola panchito but does that make bonse ababemba bakabolala.

    • @saimbwende saimbwende – you are so toxic with hatred of one tribe albeit you do not have a tribe. Your tribal fixation deprives you from normal thinking.

  9. Mweetwa stop lying. I am also a UK trained doctor, the operation of separating conjoined twins is not as easy as you are putting it. It should be carefully planned based on the type of fixation. The separation should always be considered, with rare exception. Carefully planned and rehearsed operations by surgeons, anesthesiologists and skilled nurses to yield a high success rate in separating the twins who otherwise would lead a life of ridicule and permanent deformity. LEKENI UBUFI. Whereas CIRCUMCISION SOMETIMES is done by any Jim and Jack in the village…..

  10. Well, anywhere in the world that separation surgery is done headlines are made. It is not like it is an everyday thing and separation is on the same organ. That is the marvel and that is what makes headline news, whether or not you have the hospital and equipment to do it. Back in 1997, Ben Carson, along with a team of Zambian and South African doctors separated the Banda twins. He almost came back to visit them when he was running for US President… Go figure Mweetwa. Team UTH Docs! Big UPs!!!!

  11. Ah, Larry Mweetwa did you say? There are no human beings where he hails from? Tell him that us in Zambia celebrate all good things, for example we always celebrate marriage even though it has been done billions of times before, we even celebrate mass in church on even though it has been done billions of times every sunday since Jesus Christ. As human Zambians we celebrate the UTH medical team for the success of the operation, for giving hope to the parents, for giving separate lives to the twins.
    I expect all upn.d cadres and leaders up to h.h and gb.m to distance themselves from this Larry Mweetwa thing if they are not the same type. And apologise to all offended by this up.nd associate.

  12. I forgot to ask whether in Larry Mweetwas clan they do celebrate marriage? Surely his parents celebrated their union? No? They were not happy to marry? Or does Larry think that marriage is just s×× to produce children? He is likening marriage to a cow and bull producing a calf!

  13. How can you have a cow, a cow possessed by evil spirits, like Larry Mweetwa as the face of your party and you expect to win elections mwe bantu? Ba g.bm muletipo shani, mwati ifi so mukabumonapo bu Inonge Wina?

  14. Mweetwa incobeni ncobeni ngusuntwe! Being a doctor of pharmacy does not make one a surgeon, far from it. Stop behaving like Katele Kalumba a sexologist wizard who once claimed he was a medical doctor. You’re a layman in surgery so please keep your ideas to yourself.

  15. Anyway, I don’t like the tribally bigoted line this debate is taking. Why do Bembas and Nyanjas see tribe in anything Tongas say? We do not see monkeys and bakoswe in your conduct though it’s there for all to see you moronic Central Africans.

  16. Maybe the media are making a meal out if this but people like Larry should be weary of what they post……zambia needs good news right now….

  17. I know that the truth pains. That’s the reason why all these pf lumpens above are barking like rabid dogs. Larry is spot on

  18. why am I not surprised at Larry’s tongish comment? you can take Larry to UK and he will take dundumwezi along with him. imagine hh in plot one

  19. This Larry Mweetwa is ignorant and frustrated. Zambia does not need such people. Is this the bastard whole celebrated the inferno of Soweto Market??

  20. Basuntwe ba PF ba kasondokide pe! Ba PF ni galu za chiwewe! Ba PF ki linja za mutanganyo! I mean starting from Lungu himself, just look at his mouth, it bears a cunning semblance to a feminine dog genitalia when on heat!

  21. Mweetwa is a pharmacist
    He has no medical authority to comment on medical issues.
    The complexity of an operation of conjoint twins depends on what is joined.
    If it is skin only then it will be simple.If vital organs are shared then the operation will be very complex.
    Dr Mweetwa(Expert in Pharmacy and not Medicine) restrict your expertise in your area of specialisation or alternatively get a Medical degree then you can explore medical issues

  22. This is what upnd leadership and thinking looks like. HH and his minions may try to hide their true nature, God will reveal to the Zambian people how wicked and heartless he and his party is. If there wasn’t Tonga leading that team of Doctors and other medical staff, Larry would have not said this nonsense. He is expected to support his fellow doctors, if at all he is a doctor, but he chooses to shame them.

  23. Okay then next time we want to separate the conjoined twins just take them ku mukanda and let the mukanda supervisor perform the operation. That’s how bitter Upnd are. so bitter that they can even torpedo the agriculture in put exercise.

  24. Iwee Larry, everything should not be about politics. Never knew you were that cheap in your head. Grow up and speak like an adult you are.

  25. Now let’s wait for HH to announce that the operation isn’t a real thing but a creation of the PF to hoodwink the people of. The press conference is expected to be held tomorrow.

  26. All u read here is how bad mweetwa and his tonga are but no professionally articulated counter arguments. Not diffrent from:
    Minister whats ur comment on why zambia has cholera?
    Minister: first, praise must go to our great humble leader; next i want to warn the opposition bla bla bla…Plz refute the issues raised or the koswe syndrome is just such?

  27. Mweetwa must have failed NS for him to do Biomed olo pharmacy pa UNZA, he has no idea what he is talking about. How did he even find himself talking about surgery when he does not know a single thing about surgery. It’s like my uncle speaking of rocket science when he did primary school teaching

  28. Larry you mess up and all those associated with your tribe are being showered with insults.Let us be objective when criticising ill timed comments like Larry Mweetwa’s. It is obvious he hardly understand what he tried to say because the whole world including the medicals fraternity understands that separating twins is not as easy as performing circumcision. Larry Mweetwa simply lacks respect for the people who did the work or just mentally disturbed.

  29. Larry you had over 5 doctors and you were taken to ICU after circumcision was done on you. Look at you,if you too brain why are you in a foreign land waiting for UPND to come into power and offer you a job. Shameless boy come home and show us the way.

  30. This kind of thinking is becoming a serious disease in Zambia. Give credit where it is due not politicising everything. Why is it that UPND cadres do not appreciate anything done by others except HH? Remember that society lives generation after generation and HH/UPND is temporal. There is nothing wrong in appreciating others cause even you yourself has been appreciate by others in the past. You can’t live a life of condemning everything done in your country even when you are living outside.

    • Who told you that Larry’s opinion is representative of the UPND? Learn to differentiate fact from the truth before you give your myopic opinion base on hatred and tribalism.In the team of the gallant surgeons was a Tonga but not even once did you hear Tongas or UPND praising him because every member of the team starting from the cleaner to the surgeon are important.Keep politics from medicine.

  31. Mweetwa should understand that learning a few things in Pharmacology, Pharmaceutics, Pharmacognocy and Chemistry does not make him a medical expat that can discredit surgeons in their field.

  32. The only problem I found with Larry is pride and bitterness of heart.
    He writes the article with arrogance and bitterness of heart. I don’t
    know why he watered down his article in pride, arrogance bitterness
    and pride tone. Be humble Dr in pharmacy.

  33. I’m wondering what his objective was and what he has now achieved. I live overseas as well, but I know one thing for sure, there is no place like home. No need to be silly ba Larry. you can be a citizen of UK but your home is in Zambia. This is the universal truth.

  34. BTW, when I become president of Zambia, I’ll outlaw tribes in Zambia. There should be no Tonga – Zambian, Bemba – Zambian, Nyanja – Zambian etc, we are all Zambians.

  35. Ati Larry Mweetwa no Mona kwati ni ng’ombe! If his problem is “underdevelopment”, which Mweetwa is seeing from London then he should be reminded that his brother and tribal political favourite, Hichilema contributed a lot the the underdevelopment he can see from millions of kilometres away, by stealing Zambian’s money (resources) in the name of privatisation! Such hardcore Tongas just put the rest of genuine Zambian’s off! Hakainde will never win! We don’t want him to come and rip Zambia again!

  36. Simple ba Upndees, just disown the ***** and tell us that you don’t agree with him . Preferably a statement from Stephen Katuka or the now more sober Charles Kakoma, but best from h.h himself, preferably at his weekly media brief tomorrow or tuesday otherwise the Larry Mweetwa stigma will be impossible to remove from upndees, tribalism sticks like wood glue, you have seen what happened to h.h all these years after Hack.son Shejani decreed that only tonga for president, now everyone sees h.h as tonga first then Zambian, especially that he has not apologised or set the record straight, in fact he has confirmed it with chieftainess mukuni.

  37. This boy has been issuing panado’s ku chalo chabene and he thinks he knows everything,you are eroding the little confidence the people have in your supreme leader by been un-zambian,silly maggot.

  38. Ba UPND Sure!!! Fyonse ma politics. anything positive must be seen in bad state. 2021 is coming Zwaaa to the dustbins of politics.

  39. Larry mwetwa you indeed a witch..if u think u are the best Why didnt u come to separate them? What are u doing in the UK instead of being here to save lives? We shall forever celebrate..The fact is that the surgeon was done by our own zed Doctors..The Banda twins where separated by a foreign hired Doctor..In God’s name the twins will recover fully..u are indeed crazy to compare circumcision that can be done by a non medical expert with co joined twins..mfwiti iwe

  40. FROM MOTHER ZAMBIAN
    Son! You shouldn’t be retarded about your country’s successful achievements. Why do you want to be a success antagonist instead of success agonist. Or maybe we are forcing you to be a Zambian meanwhile you not, will investigat.

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