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 they shared the same
chest wall, lungs, pericardial sac (the lining of the heart), diaphragm,
liver, intestines, colon and pelvis.
The operation was done earlier this
month by a team of more than 26 clinicians, including 12 surgeons, six
anesthesiologists and eight surgical nurses at the Texas Children's
Hospital on 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.
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.
More pictures after the operation below...
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