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Formerly conjoined twins arrive home after being separated in operation

Conjoined Bhutanese twin sisters Nima and Dawa walk holding hands with their mother Bhumchu Zangmo, right, older sister Ugyen Choden, centre, and father Sonam Tshering at the Tachog Lhakhang Buddhist temple on the outskirts of Thimphu, Bhutan Picture by Karan Gurung/AP
Conjoined Bhutanese twin sisters Nima and Dawa walk holding hands with their mother Bhumchu Zangmo, right, older sister Ugyen Choden, centre, and father Sonam Tshering at the Tachog Lhakhang Buddhist temple on the outskirts of Thimphu, Bhutan Picture by K Conjoined Bhutanese twin sisters Nima and Dawa walk holding hands with their mother Bhumchu Zangmo, right, older sister Ugyen Choden, centre, and father Sonam Tshering at the Tachog Lhakhang Buddhist temple on the outskirts of Thimphu, Bhutan Picture by Karan Gurung/AP

Two formerly conjoined twin sisters have arrived home in Bhutan after being separated in an operation in Australia.

Twenty-month-old Nima and Dawa returned on Thursday after a 22-hour flight from Melbourne with their mother, four months after their operation.

The girls had been born joined at the torso and shared a liver, and the sight of them walking independently for the first time sparked joy among family members.

Barely controlling his emotions, their father Sonam Tshering said it was like a miracle.

The girls were separated by a team of 25 surgeons, nurses and anaesthetists in an operation in early November at Melbourne's Royal Children's Hospital that lasted almost six hours.

They recovered after the operation at a retreat run by the Children First Foundation, the charity which brought them to Australia.

Debbie Pickering, from the charity, said as they left Melbourne: "They're much the same as when they were together.

"We've got one that's very much more outgoing and one that's very placid."

Nima is said to be the outgoing sister, while Dawa is the quieter child.

"They are just developing into beautiful little girls," Ms Pickering added.

"They are delightful in every way."