He was the paediatric surgeon who performed a marathon operation to separate conjoined twins from Rotorua – thought to be the first of its kind in Australasia. Twenty years later, Dr Askar Kukkady is still performing life-changing surgeries; not only in Waikato , where he is based, but also helping children in the Pacific – namely in Samoa . Kukkady became a well-known name in October 2004, when he led a team of 55 surgical staff at Waikato Hospital to carry out the procedure on then 5-month-old sisters Abbey and Sarah Hose, who were born joined at the hip.
Kukkady was later said to have worked from 8am on the day of the operation until dawn the next day – a harrowing 22 hours – painstakingly working to separate the spine, spinal nerve and organs of the babies..
