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03/29/2024 07:27:22 am

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Doctors Separate Conjoined Texas Twins

Conjoined Twins

Twenty-four-day-old conjoined twin boys are seen at Urumqi Children's Hospital in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, September 10, 2013. REUTERS/Stringer

After 10 months of living conjoined, Knatalye Hope and Adeline Faith Mata have finally been separated following a 26-hour surgery.

The twins, conjoined at birth at the chest and abdomen, underwent what doctors described as a trying surgery.

Surgeons had to separate Knatalye and Adeline from the chest wall, lungs, pericardial sac, diaphragm, liver, intestines, colon and pelvis.

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"This surgery was not without its challenges, with the girls sharing several organ systems. Our team has been preparing for this surgery for months, and we've done everything from working with our radiology experts to build a 3-D model of their organs, to conducting simulations of the actual separation surgery," said Dr. Darrell Cass, pediatric surgeon and co-director of Texas Children's Fetal Center.

The separation took only roughly 18 hours but the doctors separately worked on Knatalye for 23 hours and Adeline for 26.

The surgical team was composed of specialty doctors from pediatric surgery, plastic surgery, cardiovascular surgery, urology, liver transplant surgery, orthopedic surgery and pediatric gynecology.

The twin's mother, Elysse Mata, thanked the surgical team for the successful operation.

"We are so grateful to all the surgeons and everyone who cared for our daughters and gave them the incredible chance to live separate lives," Mata said.

"We know how much planning and time went into this surgery and we are so blessed to be at a place like Texas Children's where we have access to the surgeons and caretakers that have made this dream a reality," she added.

Mata learned that she was pregnant with conjoined twins on January 13, 2014, when she was 19 weeks pregnant.

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