In Brazil, twin boys were born conjoined and had never seen each others face with their own eyes for almost four years until Brazilian and British surgeons separated them with the help of virtual reality.
Arthur and Bernardo Lima were born as craniopagus twins, an extremely rare condition which resulted in them being fused at the top of head and brain since they were born in 2018.
The chance of twins being conjoined is estimated to range from 1 in 49,000 to 1 in 189,000 births.
The twins had spent most of their life in a hospital, sleeping in a custom fitted bed. After undergoing a series of nine operations, the two underwent a successful 23-hour surgery to finally be free.
Surgeons used VR to prepare
In order to prepare themselves for the crucial final stages of surgery, the medical team of nearly 100 people used virtual reality to create brain scans of the twins shared cranium. The surgeons then practised the planned procedure in a Trans-Atlantic, virtual reality trial surgery that was performed in both Britain and Brazil.
Gemini Untwined, a London based medical charity assisted in the near day long procedure.
“It’s just wonderful, it’s really great to see the anatomy and do the surgery before you actually put the children at any risk… To do it in virtual reality was just really man-on-Mars stuff.” said Lead surgeon for Gemini Untwined, Noor ul Owase Jeelani when he spoke to news agency PA.
Sharing several vital veins, the procedure did not come without huge risks and the doctors didn’t even think it was possible. It was carried out at the Paulo Niemeyer State Brain Institute (IECPN) in Rio De Janeiro.
“No one believed it was possible at first. Saving them both was a historic accomplishment.” said Gabriel Mufarrej, neurosurgeon at IECPN.
“It was the most difficult, complex, challenging surgery of my career.”
Gemini Untwined echoed Mufarrej’s sentiment by saying it was the “most challenging and complex separation to date.”
Mufarrej says that the boys are still recovering post-surgery and may need to undergo additional procedures as they develop. Speech is difficult for them and Bernardo has a motor deficit on his right hand side. However, the doctor remains optimistic about their future.
“They will take some time to get to the point where we want them to be. But I believe in them.”
Medical miracle in Saudi Arabia
Recently, a pair of Yemeni conjoined twin girls were separated without any complications by a team of 28 doctors at the King Abdullah Children’s Hospital in Saudi Arabia.
Mawaddah and Rahma were conjoined at the lower chest and abdomen before undergoing a five hour procedure. The mother was overcome with joy when she saw her children separated for the first time.
Both girls are now recovering and are said to be in very good health.
Father of the twins, Hudhayfa Noman expressed his gratitude towards the medical team who performed the procedure on his daughters as well as to Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for sponsoring these humanitarian efforts.
This was the 52nd time the doctors at King Abdullah Children’s Hospital had successfully separated conjoined twins according to medical team head Dr Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Rabeeah.