New photos show the progress made by conjoined twins Knatalye Hope and Adeline Faith Mata, who were separated four years ago at a Texas hospital.
The two were born in April 2014 and spent the first year of their lives in the Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston before they were separated in February 2015, KPRC Click2Houston.com reported.
They were separated 18 hours into their surgery, which included 12 surgeons, eight nurses, and other medical workers.
The twins shared the chest wall, lungs, pericardial sac (the lining of the heart), diaphragm, liver, intestines, colon, and pelvis, the hospital said.
The girls, now 5 years old, recently marked a major milestone.
According to Texas Children’s Hospital, “Both girls are doing extremely well and continue to thrive at home where they live with their parents, Eric and Elysse, older brother, Azariah, and younger sister, Mia. The family is very excited to see the girls sharing this special milestone together … The twins will attend full-day pre-k every weekday … Their mother, Elysse Mata, reports that the girls love their teachers and especially love recess. They’re also looking forward to start taking the bus to school starting next week.”
A year after the surgery, their parents spoke out about it.
“We were up almost 48 hours and didn’t know what was going to happen… we were praying for a miracle,” mom Elysse Mata told Today.com. “(Today,) they’re phenomenal, strong. They’re little fighters.”
“It’s surreal,” said John Eric Mata, the father of the girls. “For me, they’ve far exceeded expectations.”
At the time, officials said the girls undergo physical, occupational, and speech therapy twice a week.
“They’re just branching out and growing into individuals and separate personalities. They don’t like each other half the time,” their mother said. “I’m just excited about the next years and what they’re going to do. Hopefully, they do big things in life.”
Twins Joined at Head Separated
A pair of Pakistani sisters who were conjoined at the head were separated after 50 hours of surgeries, it was reported.
The 2-year-old girls, Safa and Marwa Ullah, underwent surgery at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, The Telegraph reported. They had three operations between October 2018 and February 2019. According to the hospital in a tweet, they left the facility in early July.
The future looks bright for both Safa and Marwa. After their final surgery, they began their recuperation at @GreatOrmondSt – here they are enjoying ‘Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star’ during a playful physio session! https://t.co/aKrOCMGu3q 🌟🌟 pic.twitter.com/fk3jKbpukr
— Great Ormond Street Hospital (@GreatOrmondSt) July 15, 2019
The girls’ mother, Zainab Bibi, 34, told the paper: “We are indebted to the hospital and to the staff and we would like to thank them for everything they have done.”
She continued that the family is “extremely excited about the future.”
As reported by The Guardian, when the sisters were born, their blood vessels were joined and their skulls were fused together.
Four operations, 55 hours of operating time – and a fond farewell! After 9 months of care, the twins and their family left GOSH on 1 July. Safa and Marwa have a long road ahead – but we are hopeful they will be able to live active, happy lives! https://t.co/aKrOCMGu3q 👋💗 pic.twitter.com/pWd6PXcFyq
— Great Ormond Street Hospital (@GreatOrmondSt) July 15, 2019
The hospital had to use virtual reality to create a replica of the girls’ anatomies and heads to visualize the structure of their skulls along with their blood vessels, the paper reported. They also used 3D printing to come up with plastic models of the girls’ heads for practice.
The surgeries were paid for by a private donor, the report noted. The Guardian also reported that one of the twins had a stroke during the surgery.
