In what is being called a “landmark surgery,” two conjoined twin girls have been successfully separated in California. The 9-month-old sisters Abigail and Micaela were born connected at the head, a rare condition known as craniopagus twins.
Their mother, Liliya Bachinskiy, discovered that the twins were conjoined when she was 11 weeks pregnant. Her doctor referred her to the UC Davis Fetal Care and Treatment Center, where the expectant mother began to receive extensive prenatal care.
“It was very tough. I just was shocked. I couldn’t process,” Miroshnik recalled. “When I got home, my husband said that everything will be good. We will get through it. This is our kids. We already love them.”
Following their birth on December 30th, the twins were admitted to the hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), where they spent seven weeks. Then at 9-months-old, doctors felt that the separation was necessary.
“As they get older, there are more risks of shared blood vessels and organs becoming larger or more entwined. The upcoming flu, COVID-19, and RSV season was also a concern,” Dr. Granger Wong, the lead plastic surgeon, explained.
The 24-hour separation surgery took place at UC Davis Children’s Hospital in Sacramento, which went through last Saturday and into Sunday. The surgery separated the twins’ connected veins and brain matter, removed their tissue expanders, and reconstructed their skulls/scalps. Their positions on the operating table had to be changed five times, and blood transfusions were also conducted.
“This is a landmark surgery for us at UC Davis Children’s Hospital,” Dr. Michael Edwards, lead pediatric neurosurgeon, said in a statement. “Abigail and Micaela are doing well and recovering in our Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, thanks to an amazing team effort dedicated to ensuring these very rare twins have the best shot at a healthy life ahead.”
Children’s Surgery Center nursing lead Aida Benitez expressed the team’s satisfaction with the surgery’s success in the press release.
“After 10 months of preparation, we were witnessing what we had all envisioned for the girls, and we were overcome with emotion and joy. I will never see 3:28 on a clock again and not think of the moment that Abi and Mica became two separate babies.”
The twins’ mother also confirmed the success of the surgery.
“Everything went well. It felt almost impossible to separate them, but God and the doctors and nurses at UC Davis made it possible. We are so thankful.”
Craniopagus twins is an extremely rare disorder that occurs in only about one of every 2.5 million births.
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