The conjoined twin girls who were separated by Chinese doctors in mid-February left hospital Thursday upon good rehabilitation in Shijiazhuang, capital of north China's Hebei Province, doctors said.

"All body indices of the separated Siamese twins are pointing to normal levels after the successful operation," said Li Yanmin, a pediatrician with the No. 1 Hospital attached to Hebei Medical University, where the separation operation was done.

The girls, Bao Bao and Bei Bei, were born joined at the chest and abdomen on Jan. 2. The livers, ribs and midriffs of the two infants were almost linked. Their parents are peasants from the province's Handan City.

"They are gaining weight as Bao Bao, the older of the two, now weighs 4.35 kg while Bei Bei is 3.9 kg, compared to their total body weight of 7.45 kg before the operation," Li said.

The separated sisters were escorted back home by cardiac and pediatric nurses sent by the hospital.

Doctors said the twins would still be on high alert against colds, rickets and anemia, which are common among twin children and the hospital would carry out medical examination for the twins every two months.

However, the well-being of Bei Bei, the younger of the two, who was diagnosed with a genetic heart condition, remained a concern. Doctors said they would perform another operation to correct the disease free of charge after Bei Bei got stronger.

It was the third such operation on Siamese twins who were born joined at the chest and abdomen in China.

Twenty-seven sets of Siamese twins have been reported in China since 1949, 15 pairs of whom have undergone separation operations.

(Xinhua News Agency March 4, 2004)