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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.
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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. |
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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. |
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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.
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'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.
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