Conjoined twins separated in ‘historic operation’
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A pair of abdominally fused twins were surgically separated after a painstaking 11-hour procedure in Texas.
Sixteen-week-old Amy Lynn Rose and Jamie Lynn Ray Finlay were born joined in the abdomen: shared skin, muscles and liver.
A team of 25 medical professionals, including six surgeons, at Cook Children’s Medical Center performed a delicate operation to separate the couple last Monday. Babies are now sleeping in separate cribs for the first time.
It was the first such experience for leading surgeon Dr. José Iglesias. The procedure took months of planning, and Dr. Iglesias and his team created prosthetic versions of the twins to plan exactly how they would perform the operation.
The surgeons painted the toenails of one of the twins purple and the other green, and then each twin was assigned a different surgeon who wore matching colored caps.
“Team Amy Lynn” wore green hats while “Team Jamie Lynn” wore purple.
The girls were omphalopagus twins, which means they were connected at the abdomen and shared one or more internal organs.
About 10 percent of conjoined babies in the world are omphalopagus twins, but they are the most likely to survive after surgery.
The girls had the lower part of the sternum attached to the navel and the liver divided.
Three anesthesiologists, four pediatric surgeons, two plastic surgeons and 16 other clinical specialists worked together to separate them.
They shared a common liver and then stitched up the wound.
The girls were born prematurely at Texas Health Harris Hospital in Fort Worth on October 3 last year.
Since then, physicians at both institutions have collaborated to develop a plan for the operation.
Dr. Iglesias: “The separation operation will give girls more opportunities to improve their health and development, as well as grow unique and individual.”
Conjoined twins are extremely rare and are estimated to occur in only one in 200,000 births.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, up to 60 percent of conjoined twins are stillborn or die shortly after birth. Delayed separation of conjoined twins increases the chances of survival because it gives the twins time to grow and become stable.
Christina DENISYUK.
A source: www.dailymail.co.uk
Photo: Facebook*
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