A conjoined twin who survived a complex separation surgery has tragically died months after the operation. Aruna Rodrigues passed away on Christmas Eve, December 24, after developing severe complications while being treated at the State Hospital for Children and Adolescents (Hecad) in Goiania, Brazil.
Aruna and her sister Kiraz were born conjoined at the thorax, abdomen and pelvis. They underwent a 19-hour separation surgery in May, involving a large multidisciplinary medical team. Kiraz died just days after the operation, while Aruna initially survived but remained hospitalised.
Lead surgeon Zacharias Calil announced Aruna’s death on social media, stating: “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, said his daughter had been transferred from intensive care to a ward earlier this month before developing an infection, followed by a viral illness. He said: “Our 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 shown signs of improvement after seven months of daily monitoring and was moved to the ward on December 10. She later developed severe respiratory complications and was transferred back to intensive care. Doctors diagnosed a viral infection and confirmed she died from septic shock at 3:51pm on December 24, despite all medical efforts.
The hospital said it had provided full medical and psychological support to Aruna and her family and continues to offer psychological assistance. The family has requested privacy during the mourning period.
