Surgeons at Montefiore Medical Center in New York reported encouraging progress Monday in the recovery of Carl and Clarence Aguirre, two-year-old Filipino twins whose conjoined skulls were surgically separated four days earlier.
The 17-hour procedure, which concluded in the early hours of 5 August, was the fourth in a staged series of operations that began in October. Neither twin required a return to the operating room, and both remained fever-free. Co-surgeon David Staffenberg called the results "very, very encouraging," while pediatric neurosurgeon James Goodrich said he was surprised to find no brain swelling.
Several more surgeries remain ahead, including construction of separate skull sections to protect each boy's brain. The twins will spend weeks in intensive care under round-the-clock monitoring for infection and potential neurological damage.
Their mother, Arlene Aguirre, a registered nurse, had requested the separation so her sons could live independent lives. She acknowledged accepting the risk of losing one child but said the chance at separation left her no choice.
Twins joined at the head are extraordinarily rare, occurring in roughly one in 10 million live births, compared with one in 200,000 for conjoined twins overall.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this AFP wire report, first published in August 2004, in its own words.