Two days after separating two-year-old girl Lakshmi from her parasitic conjoined twin in a complex surgery, doctors on Friday took her off from ventilator, achieving yet another milestone in her path to recovery.
"Lakshmi's condition continues to be stable. She has now been put off the ventilator," an overjoyed Dr Sharan Patil, who led the team of medical experts in performing the 27-hour surgery "successfully', told reporters at the private Sparsh Hospital on the outskirts of Bangalore.
It was an emotional and overwhelming moment for the parents Shambhu and Poonam who met their daughter twice on Friday and spent about 15 minutes at her bed side.
"It was an emotional meeting between Lakshmi and her parents", Dr Patil said adding, "Poonam heard the cries of her child for the first time after the surgery."
"All her parameters are normal", he said.
Dr Patil said Lakshmi had been in the ICU for about 54 hours, adding, "her condition has continued to remain stable during this time."
Lakshmi opened her eyes for the first time on Thursday and also managed to move her fingers and toes. She, however, continued to be on a ventilator overnight.
This morning, all of Lakshmi's blood parameters were within normal limits, he said.
"We started weaning her off the ventilator at 8 am today and were able to take her off the ventilator completely within a few hours. She has been off the ventilator since that time with all parameters continuing to remain stable," Patil said.