SISTERS GAVE LIVES FOR DREAM.(MAIN)

Byline: ERIKA NIEDOWSKI Baltimore Sun

SINGAPORE -- After a marathon operation here that riveted the world for days, conjoined twins Ladan and Laleh Bijani finally were separated, but only by sacrificing their lives.

The 29-year-old Iranian sisters died Tuesday afternoon on separate operating tables at Raffles Hospital after more than 50 hours of surgery.

Doctors said that the twins had been in stable condition just before they made the final cuts to detach their brains. But, just as they achieved their long sought-after separation, the sisters began losing massive amounts of blood. Although the medical team battled furiously to save them, the effort failed.

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