The twins’ parents, who reside in Bismarck, expressed their gratitude to the team of around 40 people involved in the surgery, as well as the Mayo Clinic staff. Suzy Fitterer, the girls’ mother, struggled to find the words to thank the medical professionals who gave her daughters a chance at a normal life.
The twins have been under the care of the Mayo Clinic since October, when tissue expanders were implanted to gradually stretch their skin in preparation for the separation surgery. Dr. Moir described the surgery as having some exciting moments, especially when it came to placing the girls’ hearts in their respective chests, considering the heart projection issue.
The most challenging part of the procedure, according to the doctors, was separating and reconstructing the girls’ chest walls and closing their incisions over their hearts. Fortunately, the twins shared a liver that had two drainage systems.
Dr. Moir expects the girls to spend several weeks in intensive care while they recover.
The Fitterers’ case marks Mayo Clinic’s fifth successful separation of conjoined twins, with two similar procedures done just last year. While conjoined twins occur in approximately one in 50,000 pregnancies, they make up only one in every 250,000 live births, as reported by Mayo Clinic.
The hope is that these two beautiful girls will have a full and exciting life, thanks to the sacrifice they made at such a young age.
SOURCE:CTV PHOTO CREDIT:AP Photo/Mayo Clinic
