Conjoined toddlers Nima and Dawa are "frustrated" with life joined at the torso and will turn to Australian surgeons for a delicate separation.
The Bhutanese twins, aged 14 months, arrived in Melbourne on Tuesday as a team at the Royal Children's Hospital were already planning the marathon surgery which includes splitting their shared liver.
One of the conjoined twins in her mother's arms. Source: SBS News
The girls and their mother are looking forward to the separation, according to Children First Foundation chief executive Elizabeth Lodge.
"Mum said the girls are getting a little frustrated with each other," she said.
"The girls are losing weight. They've been in hospital in recent weeks getting some extra nutrition so mum's really keen for them to get here."
SBS News Source: SBS News
Ms Lodge's organisation worked to help bring the girls from the small Himalayan kingdom to Australia.
They must undergo further scans to determine the surgical plan and its timing, with doctors predicting the procedure, might take up to eight hours.
The aim is to separate the girls in a single surgery, hospital head paediatric surgeon Joe Crameri told reporters on Tuesday.
One of the girls on arrival at Melbourne airport. Source: SBS News
"We know the areas we are going to have to focus on are the bowel and the liver," he said.
"The liver passes a lot of blood through it so it has the potential to bleed significantly."
While his team will be prepared for complications, Mr Crameri was positive about the outcome and confident the girls would live a normal life as they grow up.
"We just want to facilitate a good outcome for these twins to go home and live a normal life," the surgeon added.
It will be several months after surgery before the girls will be able to return to Bhutan.
Nima and Dawa Pelden with mum arrive at Melbourne airport. Source: SBS News
"Their time on getting home will depend a lot on our ability to repair the abdominal wall because obviously they share skin and muscle," Mr Crameri said.
The girls' surgery and recovery is estimated to cost at least $350,000 which the foundation is confident of raising through community donations.
Nine years ago surgeons at the hospital successfully separated Bangladeshi sisters Trishna and Krishna, who had been joined at the head.
