A Bangladeshi girl separated from her joined-at-the-head twin woke up looking "fantastic" on Thursday, just two days after high-risk surgery in Australia, hospital officials said.
Two-year-old Trishna had woken from her induced coma and was cuddling guardian Moira Kelly, who has kept a bedside vigil, while her sister Krishna was expected to regain consciousness later.
"Trishna is awake and she looks fantastic," neurosurgeon Wirginia Maixner told public broadcaster ABC.
"She is cuddling up into Moira's arms and has been there for the last few hours. She was trying to sleep when I saw her but yes, fully alert."
Maixner voiced optimism that the 32-hour operation, involving a team of 16 specialists, had been a complete success despite earlier predictions which gave just a one in four chance of both girls making a full recovery.
"I think we've succeeded, once I see Krishna wake up. I looked at the scans and I was extremely reassured by the scans. They look fantastic," she said.
She added that the sleeping twin, Krishna, had some medical "issues" and would take longer to recover.
"She still has a few issues and she's the one that will have most of the readjustment needs," Maixner said.
"So we wanted to give her brain a little bit longer to settle before we started waking her up. But we plan to start waking her today."
The developments cap an amazing story which has seen the ailing twins rescued from a Dhaka orphanage two years ago before being nursed back to health in Australia.
Specialist surgeons worked through the night on Monday to separate the girls' skulls, brains and blood vessels before reconstructive experts closed up their heads to prevent infection.
Their progress has captivated Australian media and prompted emotional scenes at Melbourne's Royal Children's Hospital, where their guardian Kelly appeared overcome.
"It's a miracle we have here at the hospital... I can't comprehend, it's like being in the twilight zone," a tearful Kelly said on Wednesday.
Former carers at the Mother Teresa home in the backstreets of the Bangladeshi capital have been praying fervently for the girls who were born in December 2006 and quickly abandoned by their shocked parents.
"It was sad when they left but we also knew that this was their only chance to live," Hyacinth, a fellow orphan, told AFP at the home.
"We often call Australia and we think about them often. On the day of the operation, we prayed all day.
"I think they will come back one day and see us. I can't imagine cuddling them now as two separate babies."
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Separated Bangladeshi twin looks 'fantastic'
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