A Papua New Guinea hospital has recommended a rare set of conjoined twins remain in the country, saying at least one of the twins would be unlikely to survive if they were to travel overseas for surgery to separate them.

The boys, Tom and Sawong, were born in remote Morobe Province on October 9 and airlifted to the capital Port Moresby for further care.

Conjoined twins are extraordinarily rare, accounting for fewer than every two in 100,000 births, with surgery required to separate the infants.

The public hospital where the newborns are currently being treated does not have a neonatal intensive care unit and there are concerns the country's medical system is not well placed to deal with the complex case.

The parents initially hoped to travel to Australia for specialised treatment but s

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