Investigations have revealed that the longest needle that was placed in the body of three-year-old Richard Zulu was 17 centimetres (cm) as the second operation on the boy draws near. Of the remaining needles mysteriously planted into the body of the boy, two are near vital organs – heart and liver.
And the Siamese twins who were evacuated from Kabwe General Hospital to the University Teaching Hospitals (UTH) on Sunday are in good condition and responding well to medication.

UTH head of clinical care Musaku Mwenechanya said in an interview yesterday that the longest needle [a wire] measured 17cm while the shortest was nine centimetres. These have since been removed after an operation conducted at Chipata Central Hospital. Dr Mwenechanya said 26 needles out of 44 have so far been removed from the body.

“The total number of needles found in his [Richard] body was 44. As at now, we can roughly say that about 18 needles are still remaining from the time he was evacuated to UTH, we have not conducted any surgery; no operation has been done on him,” he said. Dr Mwenechanya said a team of eight doctors has been constituted to monitor Richard’s condition ahead of the first operation set for next week. He described Richard’s condition as stable.

“As we are planning to conduct the first surgery in the second week of January, we want to make sure that all necessary equipment is put in place…we have a delicate situation, some needles are in the chest, with one close to the heart, while the other one is near the liver and that is what is worrying the surgeons,” he said.

He pledged continued support to Richard, who is still admitted to UTH. Meanwhile, UTH head of neonatology department at women and newborn hospital Kunda Kapembwe said the Siamese twins are in stable condition. She said the twins will not be operated on any time soon because a number of tests have to be undertaken.

“Right now, they [twins] are stable. We are now concentrating on keeping them alive and also helping them grow. The plans for surgery will not happen any time soon because we still need to do some investigations. “We need to see where they are touched, how they were touched, among other things. Otherwise, they are both stable…a team of doctors has been constituted to monitor them,” Dr Kapembwa said.

She said doctors at UTH have gained enough experience to deal with cases such as the Siamese twins. Last year, doctors at UTH scored a first after they successfully separated Mapalo and Bupe, Siamese twins born to a couple of Kawambwa.