Former conjoined twins Jadon and Anias McDonald, has finally seen each other face to face after being successfully separated in a grueling, life-threatening 27-hour operation at Montefiore Hospital. It was found out that the separation procedure itself lasted 16 hours, followed by more hours of surgery to rebuild their skulls and make them whole.
Conjoined Twins, Finally Separated
According to reports revealed by Pix11 News, it was found that the boys, who are now 14 months old, are set to move to rehab shortly after Thanksgiving, about six weeks after the surgery to separate them. The world's previous record for recovery from such an operation, known as craniopagus surgery, was eight weeks. Experts says that around 40 percent of craniopagus twins are stillborn. Of those that survive, a third die within 24 hours of birth.
Furthermore, experts have also noted that if craniopagus twins have survived that point, there is still an 80 percent risk they will die before the age of two if they are not separated. Moreover, separation meant one or both of the twins could suffer developmental complications. In this case, it was found that Anias, is the one who is having problems.
Meanwhile, as per CNN, the twins' operation has been considered as the seventh and longest separation surgery performed by Dr. James Goodrich, the surgery's lead surgeon, who is also renowned for being one of the leading experts on craniopagus surgery. The surgery has allegedly cost $2.5 million.
On the other hand, it was found that the team had spent months practicing and planning their strategy using a physical 3D model of the boys' heads, plus computerized 3D modeling, where they can look at different scenarios. At the moment, due to the cost of the surgery, a Go Fund Me page has been created in order to help the family with the funding of the said costly surgery.
