SOUTH African doctors, in a historic medical milestone for their province and country’s rural healthcare, successfully separated conjoined twin boys in March 2026 at Mankweng Hospital in Limpopo.
News 24 reported the operation was led by pediatric surgeon Nyaweleni Tshifularo and an expert team which performed the complex, seven-and-a-half hour procedure on the babies, born in January 2026 joined at the abdomen and sharing a liver.
The operation was about a year after Beitbridge lost conjoined twins Unarine and Zwoluga Mudau from just outside the border town near Lutumba.
Unarine and Zwoluga Mudau born at Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital were four when they died.
The longer part of their short life was at Harare Hospital where they were detained while investigations into how they could be separated were done.
Their mother Rofhiwa Mudau and her twins were expelled and sent back to Zimbabwe, where efforts to separate the twins were unsuccessful due to shared vital organs.
They had been told to go and seek help in Zimbabwe in what seemed a Xenophobic approach the South African authorities who expelled them must be haunted with.
The twins were laid to rest in Tshanswilikiti Village.
At the Mankweng Hospital, a success story was written, marking the first time such an advanced procedure was done in a rural hospital in the province.
Tshifularo led his team to handle the intricate separation of shared organs and follow-up plastic surgery.
As of now the twins are reported to be stable and recovering well.
SA health officials, including Health Minister Dr. Aaron Motsoaledi, praised the team, highlighting that specialised care can be provided closer to communities.
The succesful operation has been lauded as a significant triumph for the Limpopo Department of Health and brings hope to rural communities.
Rex Mphisa/News 24.