A CONJOINED twin who survived a marathon separation operation has died on Christmas Eve, just months after being separated from her sister.
Aruna Rodrigues died on Christmas Eve after developing severe complications following the complex surgery that divided her from her twin sister Kiraz in May.
She had spent months in hospital recovering from the procedure in Goiânia, in the Brazilian state of Goiás.
Doctors confirmed Aruna died at 3.51pm on Christmas Eve from septic shock at the State Hospital for Children and Adolescents (Hecad), despite intensive treatment.
Her sister Kiraz died just days after the separation surgery in May.
The twins were 18 months old when surgeons carried out the 19-hour operation.
XMAS HORROR
Girl, 2, drowns in bucket of water in family home as horrified mum finds her
KILLER FISH
Tragic girl, 2, killed in horror piranha attack after falling into river
They had been born conjoined at the chest, abdomen and pelvis.
The procedure involved a large multidisciplinary team and more than a year of planning, hospital officials said.
Lead surgeon Zacharias Calil announced Aruna’s death in a message shared on social media late on Wednesday.
He wrote: “Today, God decided to relieve Aruna’s suffering and took her to be close to her sister Kiraz, an immense pain for all of us, especially for this family that fought with courage, faith and love for their Siamese twins.”
Aruna’s father, Alessandro Rodrigues, also confirmed the death, explaining that his daughter had recently shown signs of improvement.
He said she had been transferred from intensive care to a hospital ward earlier this month before developing an infection followed by a viral illness.
He added: “The baby went through several procedures and several surgeries and she managed to overcome all of them, unfortunately, she did not overcome this last one, which was leaving the intensive care unit for the ward.”
Hospital officials said Aruna had been monitored daily for seven months and was moved to the ward on December 10 after showing improvement.
Days later, she developed severe respiratory complications and was transferred back to intensive care.
Doctors diagnosed a viral infection and confirmed she died from septic shock despite all medical efforts.
Hecad said it had provided full medical and psychological support to Aruna and her family throughout her treatment.
The hospital added that psychological assistance is continuing and asked for privacy for the family during the mourning period.
Aruna and Kiraz were from Igaraçu do Tietê, in São Paulo state.
According to their father, Aruna’s body was due to leave Goiânia on Thursday morning to be taken back to São Paulo for burial.