Conjoined Twins Survive
Separation Surgery
In an operation that
began at 8:30am and
ended after noon
yesterday, Yurelia and
Fiorella Rocha Arias,
the Costa Rican siamese
twins, were separated
successfully by surgeons
at the Lucile Packard
Children’s Hospital in
Palo Alto, California.
Costa Rican doctor
Carlos Esquivel
participated in the
surgery and told the
press last night that
the little girls would
be connected to an
artificial respirator
for at least a couple of
days as they recover
from the surgery.
Yurelia will require
more surgery in the
coming week to correct a
number of congenital
malformations.
The girls are in the
intensive care and if no
complications occur in
the coming days the
girls could be leaving
hospital in 10 days.
Two-year-old Yurelia and
Fiorella and their
mother Maria Elizabeth
to Packard Children's in
late July. Since that
time, an extensive team
of physicians and
caregivers carefully
evaluated the
possibility of surgical
separation for the
twins, who are joined at
the chest and abdomen
and face each other
(called a
thoraco-omphalopagus
connection). After
comprehensive review,
doctors at Packard
Children’s determined
that separation surgery
can be done.
“Like all cases of
conjoined twins, this
surgery is complex and
risky,” said Gary
Hartman, MD, lead
surgeon. “Besides the
challenge of separation,
both Yurelia and
Fiorella have congenital
heart defects and they
share a liver. |
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