Conjoined twins who are turning one-year-old next month just received the best first birthday gift that will change their lives forever.

 

Erin and Abby Delaney, twins from North Carolina, were successfully separated in an 11-hour surgery. The twins were born with a condition called Craniopagus – the extremely rare type of conjoined twins. Craniopagus twins are conjoined twins that are fused at the cranium. According to some experts, only two percent of conjoined twins are joined this way.

It’s believed that birth of conjoined twins happens just once in every 200,000 live births and usually, the survival rate is somewhere between five percent to twenty five percent. Information from University of Maryland also revealed that roughly forty to sixty percent of conjoined twins arrive stillborn, and about thirty five percent survive only one day. For reasons unknown, female siblings have a higher chances of survival than their male counterparts.

Heather and Riley, parents of the conjoined twins, just found out the condition on the 11^th week of Heather’s pregnancy. Despite the risks, they continued to fight for their little angels. They immediately took actions by looking into specialized prenatal care. After few months, Heather gave birth to these beautiful babies, little Erin and Abby.

The precious girls faced a lot of struggles. The Delaney twins were born 10-weeks premature via Caesarian section with joined heads.

The conjoined twins received a special present, just a month before their first birthday. On June 7, a team of thirty medical professionals successfully separated baby Erin and Abby at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. The team included physicians, nurses and other medical staffs from neurosurgery, anesthesiology, plastic and reconstructive surgery. The specialized team of health care professionals was co-led by neurosurgeon Gregory Heuer, MD, PhD, and plastic surgeon Jesse Taylor, MD.

An official for the hospital stated that the surgical procedure, which was conducted few weeks ago, was meticulously orchestrated by medical experts. Obviously, each detail was precisely mapped out before the date of operation and the team was composed of trusted specialists. They also marked the medical equipment with color green and purple tape to indicate which device was being used for which little baby.

Luckily, the conjoined twins were successfully separated and can finally live a normal life. They can finally grow free from each other and can move without much hassle. The twins maybe physically separated, but their emotional attachment will be for a lifetime.

 

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