Stanford surgeons successfully separate conjoined twins

STANFORD, Calif. Nov. 13, 2007 (KGO) (KGO) -- Surgeons at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford have successfully separated conjoined twins from Costa Rica. It is not a new procedure, but it is the first time the risky operation has taken place at Packard Children's Hospital.

This is the fifth time Dr. Gary Hartman has separated conjoined twins. For him, the challenge was not the physical separation of Yurelia and Fiorella, but the potential complications because the right atriums of their hearts were connected.

"What actually happened is that with the test clamp, both girls improved from a functionality standpoint and that was really the biggest relief," says Hartman.

Video from Lucile Packard Children's Hospital shows the two year old twins in July. Not only were the girls joined at the heart, chest, and abdomen, but their livers were also connected. The concern there was excessive bleeding, which didn't happen.

"They had some major vessels going from one side to the other but once we divided the liver, they ended up with two separate units," says surgeon, Carlos Esquivel, M.D.

Yurelia has yet another major operation this week. Doctors say they have to repair a structural defect in her heart.

The two girls are still sedated. They are in the same room but in separate beds. Doctors say it will be an interesting moment when they reach out to touch each other and realize they are separated.

In an earlier interview with hospital staff, the twins mother said it was her greatest dream to see them walk side by side on their own as doctors have made that dream a possibility.

"It's a very humbling experience to see the amount of emotion that came out of mother when she heard the girls were separated," says Hartman.

The girls will stay near the hospital for a two month recovery period. When they return to Costa Rica, their nine brothers and sisters can hug them each, one at a time.

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