In Rare Operation, Siamese Twins Successfully Separated At Soroka Medical Center, Beersheva

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — A rare operation to separate a pair of Siamese twins took place at the Soroka Medical Center in Beersheva last week.

The baby girls were born attached together at the back of their heads a year ago in a complex birth which required a team of doctors and nurses from the Saban Center for Pediatrics, as well as anesthesiologists and imaging specialists.

During the past year a specialist team was gathered for the operation, which has only been performed 20 times worldwide and had never been attempted in Israel.

The separation of Siamese twins who are conjoined at the head is conducted in two steps. In the first stage, the treatment team introduced skin and tissue extenders several months ago in order to produce excess skin that will be used to close the scalp of the two girls after the separation.

Over the past few months the twins have undergone extensive tests by the Institute for Child Development at Soroka in addition to close monitoring of their cardiac and respiratory functions. During the last few months the twins have undergone skin extension operations in advance of the separation operation.

The multidisciplinary team used two models prior to the analysis: 3D models and virtual reality (VR) models. The 3D models of STRATASYS, 3D4OP are based on the images from MRI, CT, and angiography scans and they simulate in the most reliable and accurate way the complexity of the connection of the blood vessels, meninges, skull bones and skin of the twins.

Using the VR model of SURGICAL THEATER, it was possible to make simulations of the procedure and plan it in the most exact manner. Using this model it is possible to go into the depth of the connection between them, see common blood vessels and perform a simulation of all stages of the surgery. Dozens of repetitions and simulations of all stages of the operation were performed in each of the models with the participation of all the team members.

In the 16-hour surgery itself, after the successful separation of the blood vessels, the bones were separated. At this point, the team members split into two teams that worked in parallel in two separate operating rooms, performing a reconstruction of the skull of each of the girls and closing their skin.

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Dr. Yaffa Ashur, deputy director of Soroka hospital, tweeted that “the babies are away, feeding and moving their limbs. This is the first time in their lives that they have been lain down face to face and experienced seeing their twin. We were all very excited.”