Surgeons have separated twin 13-month-old girls who were born joined from the chest to the navel and had attached hearts and livers.
Tiesha and Iesha - their last name and hometown were withheld at their family's request - were separated Tuesday at Texas Children's Hospital in an eight-hour series of operations involving at least a dozen doctors.The girls were in stable condition and were using ventilators to help them breathe this morning, a hospital spokeswoman said.
Dr. Michael Nihill, the pediatric cardiologist who oversaw the operation, said Tuesday that the girls' long-term outlook is good.
"They're just like two normal little kids," he said.
The conjoined twins had been joined at the heart and liver, but tests determined both had fully functioning organs.
The hearts were joined by fibrous material that had to be cut apart. The girls had two incomplete livers, though enough to make two functioning organs.
To ensure the girls had enough skin to cover their chests once they were separated, balloon-like catheters were inserted under their skin six weeks ago. Doctors gradually filled the catheters with fluid to stretch the tissue and allow additional skin to grow.
Plastic was inserted in both girls' chests in place of missing bone.
Dr. Nancy Glass, a pediatric anesthesiologist, said the girls weighed a total of about 35 pounds before separation. Afterward, she said, Tiesha was slightly larger than Iesha.
The girls are the 11th set of conjoined twins whom doctors at the hospital have tried to separate since 1964. Tuesday's operation was only the third successful one; the other sets of twins died during separation.