Conjoined Twins Separated In Successful Surgery

Surgeons have successfully separated Bhutanese toddler twins Nima and Dawa following a six hour operation.

The 15-month-old girls, who were joined at the torso and shared a liver, were taken into theatre at Melbourne's Royal Children's Hospital on Friday morning with happy medical staff emerging hours later.

A team of 18 surgeons, nurses and anaesthetists were involved in the procedure.

Head of paediatric surgery Dr Joe Crameri, who led the operation, confirmed the procedure finished about 2.30pm.

"Currently the girls are in recovery," Crameri told reporters after the surgery, adding that the girls had coped well with the operation and that there hadn't been any major surprises throughout.

"We have been able to remove their breathing tubes so they are breathing  independently and that was a very important step after the operation," Crameri said.

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"The decision about where they go from there will depends what happens probably over the next hour or two. We are sort of hoping they won't need to go to our ICU but we will put them in the best environment for their early recovery."

Crameri added that the twins' relieved mum had also been notified of the good news.

READ MORE: Mum Of Conjoined Twins Nima And Dawa 'Anxious But Confident' About Surgery

The operation had previously been postponed after last-minute checks revealed the sisters were not ready.

They were brought to Australia with their mother Bhumchu Zangmo in October and have been staying at the Children First Foundation retreat in Kilmore.

The procedure and recovery are expected to cost at least $350,000 and the state government has offered to pay the bill.

Other funds raised will go towards the twin's rehabilitation and return home.