Twins thriving after fair share

Eleanor Sheehan and twin boys Nixon (left) and Fallan. Photo / Herald on Sunday

The first twins to undergo a life-saving operation in New Zealand to treat a rare antenatal syndrome are now healthy 7-month-old boys.

Doctors discovered Eleanor Sheehan's unborn children were suffering from Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome just 17 weeks into her pregnancy.

The disorder, which gave the twins a 10 per cent chance of survival if untreated, occurs when one baby gets too much blood through shared placenta vessels and the other is starved of essential nutrients.

Kiwi mums-to-be with the syndrome were previously flown to Australia because specialist knowledge and equipment were unavailable here.

But last May a $148,000 fetoscope was bought, allowing the problem to be corrected in New Zealand. The operation gives each baby its own placenta rather than a shared one.

The equipment was bought with donations from Mercury Energy's Star Supporters Club, with customers making donations through monthly power bills.

The Starship Foundation and Masons contributed to other items essential for the operation.

Sheehan, 21, from Waikato, said the machine arrived "in the nick of time" for her boys, Nixon and Fallan Sheehan-Johns, who are now healthy and reaching their milestones.

"They hardly ever cry and they smile and laugh at each other all day long."