Singapore, October 1:

Jamuna Shrestha, the surviving Nepali conjoined twin who underwent a marathon separation

operation in Singapore seven years ago, is in Singapore for surgery to repair a hole in her skull, a report said today.

Eight-year-old Jamuna and her mother arrived in the city-state late yesterday, the Straits Times reported. She was brought to a hospital where she will spend the next 10 days undergoing tests, it said. Jamuna and her sister Ganga, who were born with fused skulls, were separated after a 97-hour operation in Singapore in 2001.

However, the surgery left Ganga with brain damage and Jamuna unable to walk. It also left a hole in Jamuna’s skull covered only by a layer of skin.

The twins had returned to Singapore in 2005 for additional treatment before going home to Nepal. Doctors said they were not fit for recontructive surgery at that time.

Ganga died in July from respiratory problems at a hospital in Kathmandu, where she was being treated for pneumonia and meningitis.

Surgeon Keith Goh, who led the operation to separate the girls, was quoted by the newspaper

today as saying he plans to fill in the gap in Jamuna’s skull through a process called cranioplasty, but would need to first do tests.

“She will need blood tests and a number of radiological investigations to assess the present skull bone structure, her brain (and) the blood flow to her brain,” Goh said.