S Korean baby girls separated

Four-month old South Korean twin girls Min Sa-Rang and Min Ji-Hye (front) are held by Iranian twins Ladan (L) and Laleh Bijani in this recent undated picture at Singapore Raffles Hospital. The South Korean twins, who were joined at the spine, were successfully separated on Tuesday, two weeks after 29-year old Iranian twins joined at the head died in an unprecedented operation to separate them. Photo: AFP

"The Korean twins have been successfully separated," Prem Kumar Nair, spokesman for the Raffles Hospital, said after Min Sa-Rang and her sister Min Ji-Hye underwent surgery by a team of more than 60 doctors and assistants.

"From what I know at this moment, the twins are separated and well in the operating theatre," Nair said as the four-month-old girls underwent post-operative treatment, including plastic and reconstructive surgery.

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The five-and-a-half hour operation took place 14 days after 29-year-old Iranian twins joined at the head, Laleh and Ladan Bijani, died within 90 minutes of each other from massive blood loss.

Experts said separating infant twins has a higher chance of success than surgery on adults. The Bijanis insisted on surgery despite warnings that one or both of them could die from the untried procedure on adults.