An Egyptian baby who had surgery two months ago to remove the head of an undeveloped twin is eating normally, one of her doctors said on Wednesday.

Manar Maged, who was one in March, was born with craniopagus parasiticus, a very rare birth defect which left her attached by the skull to the head of her undeveloped twin. The twin could blink and smile but was not capable of independent life.

“She has been transferred to ordinary care two weeks ago and she is showing good signs of improvement as she can eat normally without the aid of a tube,” said Abla el-Alfy, a consultant in the paediatric intensive care at Benha Children’s Hospital, north of Cairo.

She said Manar’s mother was allowed to have direct contact with her baby after being separated for almost two months after the operation on Feb. 19.

“Manar is bonding well with her mother,” Alfy said.

Doctors have said Manar’s case was extremely rare and just surviving the operation was a big achievement.

“I think she will be able to leave hospital as soon as we feel that her mother is capable of taking care of her,” said Alfy, adding that Maged’s medication was being reduced.

Craniopagus parasiticus occurs when an embryo begins to split into identical twins but does not complete the process. One of the conjoined twins then fails to fully develop.