World’s First: Ten-Month-Old Conjoined Baby Girls Survive 26-Hour Operation To Separate Them

Conjoined twins who were connected at the chest and abdomen have been separated after an operation that has never before been successfully attempted.

Knatalye Hope and Adeline Faith Mata were born in Texas last April and were welcomed by parents Elysse and John Eric.

The couple, from Lubbock, were told that their twin girls would be conjoined and when they were born it was found their shared the same chest wall, lungs, pericardial sac (the lining of the heart), diaphragm, liver, intestines, colon and pelvis.

Earlier this month, a team of more than 26 clinicians, including 12 surgeons, six anesthesiologists and eight surgical nurses at the Texas Children’s Hospital operated to separate the 10-month-olds.

The 26-hour surgery was the first time twins conjoined at the chest and abdomen in this way had been separated successfully.

And now their mother Elysse says she can’t thank the surgeons enough for giving her daughters the chance to live separate lives.

She said: ‘We know how much planning and time went into this surgery and we are so blessed to be at a place like Texas Children’s where we have access to the surgeons and caretakers that have made this dream a reality. We also want to express our gratitude to all of the people that have prayed and provided support to our family over the last 10 months.’

To prepare for the major surgery earlier this month, both Knatalye and Adeline underwent a five hour procedure in December to place custom-made tissue expanders into their chest and abdomen.

The tissue expanders helped to stretch the babies’ skin in preparation for their separation surgery.

Models of their organs were also created so doctors could carry out simulations of the operation before the actual surgery.

During the operation, the team worked for around 23 hours on Knatalye and for 26 on Adeline with the official separation taking place 18 hours into the procedure.

Dr Darrell Cass, paediatric surgeon said: ‘This is the first time a separation surgery for thoraco-omphalo-ischiopagus twins with this particular configuration has been successful. This surgery was not without its challenges with the girls sharing several organ systems. Our team has been preparing for this surgery for months and we’ve done everything from working with our radiology experts to build a 3-D model of their organs, to conducting simulations of the actual separation surgery.’

The girls are now being cared for in the hospital’s paediatric intensive care unit, where they will recover for the next couple of months.

There is no date for their release from hospital as it is thought they will have to undergo additional procedures in the future.

Source: DailyMail