The twin boys, who yesterday were given the names Zuo and You (which sounds like left and right in Chinese) to reflect the fact they were born side-by-side with each other, were attached by a 20-centimeter connection running from their chests to their navels.

Ke Zuo and Ke You, who were born on August 10 to a farmer family in Jiangxi Province's Wuning County, shared a common liver, but all of their other organs were independent, doctors said.

"The boys are fortunate, as their other key organs like the heart, respiratory system, arteries and digestive system were all independent," said Wang Yi, a spokeswoman for the hospital.

Doctors were able to split the liver in half, as the organ can regenerate itself.

"This is the first time that our hospital separated Siamese twins and it was very successful," Wang said. "There was a little blood loss during the surgery, but the two boys began to breathe by themselves right after the operation."

The twins will remain in intensive care for 48 to 72 hours, but doctors at the hospital expect Zuo and You to live normal healthy lives.

"They will recover soon and grow up like other healthy children in the future," said Wang.

As the boys hail from a poor part of the country, which lacks decent medical services, doctors were caught off guard during their delivery, not realizing their mother was carrying twins, never mind Siamese twins.

As a result, their mother was hurt badly during the delivery, the twin's father Ke Zibing said.

When the boys were sent to the hospital in Shanghai four days later, the mother was left in hospital for treatment. She is now doing fine, according to the father.

"Normally, Siamese twins undergo surgery after they are six months old when they have become stable and grown mature organs," said Dr. Zheng Shan, who led the surgery.

"When the boys were first sent here four days after delivery, they weighed only 4.5 kilograms together. We waited until they are strong enough to undergo the operation," Zheng said.

"We are so happy that the boys were separated from each other,'' said the father after the surgery, "we thought we would lose both of them, now we suddenly have two healthy sons."

(eastday.com November 20, 2002)