Brazilian doctors separate three-year-old conjoined twins
Three-year-old Brazilian twins who were born conjoined at the head were separated after undergoing a 27-hour-long surgery in Brazil.
Arthur and Bernardo Lima were born in a rural part of Northern Brazil in 2018. They shared part of the brain and the main vein that carries blood back to the heart.
The twins underwent several operations in Rio de Janeiro under the direction of Paulo Niemeyer State Brain Institute and Gemini Untwined in the UK.
After several months of research, preparation, and using virtual reality projections of the twins based on CT and MRI scans, the babies were separated in successful surgery.
Their mother Adrielle told local media she was 'desperate' on the days before the procedure.
The twin boys will soon begin their six months of rehabilitation at the hospital. And after the operation, they were able to lie on a bed face to face for the first time.
Arthur and Bernardo are the oldest craniopagus twins with a fused brain to have been separated.
According to Gemini Untwined, one in 60,000 births result in conjoined twins, and only 5% of these are joined at the head.