Former conjoined twin needs surgery family can't afford

The younger sister in a set of former conjoined twins, separated nine years ago in Hunan province, is now waiting for another surgery to cure her eye problem, but her family cannot afford the fees.

Born in 2009, Luo Lan and her older sister, Luo Hong, were found conjoined at the chest and the abdomen at birth, and were successfully separated through surgery 16 days later in Hunan Children's Hospital, which was a first of its kind in the history of Hunan province.

Luo Lan was diagnosed with ptosis of the upper eyelid after the separation, which might cause vision damage if not treated in time, according to Du Fen, an ophthalmologist at the hospital.

Being the sole breadwinner for the family, Luo Guoquan, the girls' father, said his income was far from enough to pay for the surgery, as a result of doing part-time jobs and taking care of his children at the same time.

The total cost of the surgery is estimated to be 17,000 yuan, including 8,000 yuan that would be covered by the new rural cooperative medical insurance.

Luo Guoquan was hoping that Luo Lan can get help from society to complete her surgery.

Zhu Fangjie contributed to this story.