Lakshmi started on liquid diet

Bangalore, Nov 10: Lakshmi, who underwent a rare surgery to separate her from a parasitic twin, continued to show signs of steady recovery as she began accepting a liquid diet.

The girl, who had been successfully operated upon on Tuesday and had been off the ventilator since yesterday, is "displaying all signs of steady recovery", Dr Yohannan John, director of Medical Services at the super speciality Sparsh Hospital, where the 27-hour surgery was conducted, said.

"She has begun sipping water since yesterday," he said, indicating that her body was responding well, despite the complicated and long surgical procedure she underwent.

She also began taking some milk which was offered to her, Dr Ashley D'Cruz, a member of the team, said.

Lakshmi's excretory organs has been functioning properly as was indicated by the fact that she had been moving her bowels, hospital sources said.

But despite the signs of steady recovery, doctors said it was still early to say that the critical period was completely over. "Until the surgical wounds heal, we really cannot say that the critical period is completely over," Dr John said.

To prevent the two-year-old from catching any infection post-surgery, Lakshmi will continue to remain in the Intensive Care Unit, specially prepared for her. "It will take some time before we can shift her out of the ICU," he said.

Lakshmi, a native of Bihar, was brought to the private hospital to undergo a surgery to separate her from a parasitic twin, which had stopped developing midway in the womb. Her body had absorbed the foetus' extra limbs, resulting in an abnormal body structure.