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A very rare medical event transpired this week at Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas.
“Conjoined twins that reach and stay viable after birth, there’s really only about 5 to 8 of those per year, on the entire planet,” explained Dr. José L. Iglesias, medical director, pediatric surgery. “So it is a very rare situation.”
On Jan. 23, after 11 hours of surgery, twin sisters JamieLynn Rae and AmieLynn Rose Finley, at age 16 weeks, were successfully separated. The girls, born Oct. 3 to parents Amie and Jamie, were connected at the abdomen, face-to-face and shared a liver.
They were growing, but not at the same rate, due in part to sharing a blood supply. “One is stealing groceries from the other, basically,” said neonatologist Chad Barber. In addition, their hearts were close together and AmieLynn was beginning to develop scoliosis.
One of the most unusual aspects of the surgery was nail polish. JamieLynn’s nails were colored purple and AmieLynn’s green, so that the doctors and nurses could properly tell them apart.
The other thing of note is that the Finleys must have excellent health insurance. In all, more than 100 medical professionals were involved in the planning, surgery and subsequent day-to-day care.
The first few hours of surgery were all about observing how each girl reacted to the anesthesia. The actual separation began at 12:28 p.m. local time and was completed by 3 p.m.
“The challenges the girls may face after surgery are very difficult to fully prepare for,” warned neonatologist Mary Frances Lynch. “We do still have some unknowns as far as how their shared vascular system and their shared anatomy and positioning over these last three months will affect them.”
Added Iglesias: “I’m very hopeful that they’re going to have a good recovery and lead healthy lives in the future. They’re going to have a bit of a ramp-up from the recovery, but I think they’re going to be able to get there eventually, and very close to normal if not completely normal.”
TMX contributed to this story
The post Conjoined Twin Sisters Successfully Separated In Texas After 11 Hours Of Surgery appeared first on Knewz.
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Author: Richard
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