Doctors in Australia have successfully separated Siamese twin girls in a 27-hour operation involving 16 medical specialists.

The two conjoined Bangladeshi girls, Trishna and Krishna, were rescued from an orphanage in Dhaka two years ago by aid workers. They were nursed back to health and underwent a series of preparatory operations before the separation.

Sixteen specialists worked through the night, taking occasional food and rest breaks and listening to music in the theatre to stay alert as the operation went hours over its scheduled time. The girls, almost three, left the operating theatre in induced comas and will spend the next few days sedated and on ventilators before being gradually woken up.

Mr Leo Donnan, Chief of Surgery at the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne said there was quiet elation among the surgeons when the operation finished. He described the moment of separation as "a rather surreal moment". But, he added, there was still a long road ahead. The next step for the girls is reconstructive surgery involving their own skin, bone grafts and other artificial material.