Conjoined Twins With Fused Brains Were Separated In A Historical Surgery And My Heart Is Full
3-year-old conjoined twins with fused brains have now been separated in a life-changing, historical surgery!
This is such exciting news for these children and I am amazed at how they pulled it off.
Noor ul Owase Jeelani is a pediatric neurosurgeon from the Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, England.
He directed the surgery at the Instituto Estadual do Cerebro Paulo Niemeyer in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The way these two Brazilian twins were conjoined would have made life extremely difficult to navigate and now that they are separated it is the definition of life-changing!
The twins are named Bernardo and Arthur Lima and they are just 3 years old, it took 7 procedures to separate the boys from each other.
This wasn’t just about being conjoined at the head, but their brains were actually fused together!
After two and a half years of care and multiple procedures, the medical team at the Instituto Estadual do Cérebro Paulo Niemeyer in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, sought out our advice and expertise to separate twin boys, Arthur and Bernardo. At nearly four years old and with fused brains, this was our most complex case to date and marks the beginning of a long-term partnership with the hospital. This ensures that similar cases in Latin America receive the same level of world class care in the future.
Gemini Untwined
The final 2 surgeries totaled 33 hours long and required almost 100 medical workers!
As a parent, I stress over the most minor procedures and I can not even imagine what it was like for the people that care for the boys.
The successful separation of Bernardo and Arthur is a remarkable achievement by the team in Rio and a fantastic example of why the work of Gemini Untwined is so valuable.
Noor ul Owase Jeelani said in a statement to The Independent
The surgeries were so complex that they required months of training and practice using virtual reality before even attempting the 7 surgeries on the children.
Not only have we provided a new future for the boys and their family, we have equipped the local team with the capabilities and confidence to undertake such complex work successfully again in the future. It is through this process of teamwork and knowledge-sharing globally that we can hope to improve the outcome for all children and families that find themselves in this difficult position.
Noor ul Owase Jeelani’s statement continued
Noor ul Owase Jeelani must have a bladder like no other, he only took 4 breaks during the 27-hour operation and each was only for 15 minutes!
Medical advancements like this are amazing and I am so happy for the children!
