A mother of conjoined twins has told of her love as she brings her girls home after a gruelling six-hour operation to separate them and months in intensive care.
Ella Grace and Eliza Faith had been joined at the abdomen when they were born to mum Sandy Fuller by C-section on 1st March.
Now four months after the op to separate them at Texas Children’s Hospital in the US, the sisters are being allowed home for the first time.
Pictures obtained from the hospital show the girls’ overjoyed mum and dad Jesse cuddling their girls after months in intensive care recovering from the op.
The couple also have an 11-year-old daughter, Emilia.
Mum Sandy said: “Texas Children’s Hospital was a place of comfort and hope for our family.”
She added: “From the beginning to the end, we were guided, informed and comforted.
“We are so grateful God put some of the best doctors and nurses in our lives to give our girls the best chance at life. We truly love Texas Children’s.”
The technically complex operation involved 17 experts in different fields all working together.
The surgery took months to prepare, according to the hospital, with preparations beginning before the babies were even born.
Their conjoined status had been picked up in a routine ultrasound scan while Sandy was in her second trimester of pregnancy.
A statement from Texas Children’s Hospital on 10th July obtained by Newsflash said: “Texas Children’s Hospital is proud to announce that twin sisters Ella Grace and Eliza Faith Fuller are now on their way home after being separated just last month.
“The sisters spent more than four months in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) following their birth at Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women in March.
“The complex surgery on June 14 lasted approximately six hours and was conducted by a multi-disciplinary team of 17 clinicians working together to separate the girls who were conjoined at the abdomen and shared liver tissues.”
The hospital said that the clinical team included seven surgeons, four anesthesiologists, four surgical nurses, and two surgical technicians.
The operation was led by Dr Alice King, a pediatric surgeon at Texas Children’s Hospital and an Assistant Professor of Surgery, Division of Pediatric Surgery at the Baylor College of Medicine.
Dr King said: “Our team began planning and preparing for this operation before these babies were even born.”
She added: “From conducting simulations of the procedure, to collaborating extensively with our colleagues in anesthesiology, maternal-fetal medicine, neonatology and radiology, we have all been working together to achieve one common goal: the best outcome for Ella and Eliza.”
Dr Larry Hollier, Surgeon-In-Chief at Texas Children’s Hospital, said: “As one of the select few hospitals in the nation that specializes in the treatment and separation of conjoined twins, this excellent outcome is a testament to our enormously talented and dedicated teams.”
He added: “Because of their expertise, extensive planning and seamless collaboration, the procedure went much quicker than anticipated, which led us all to our unified goal — sending two healthy babies home to join their family.”
The hospital statement continued: “Following the successful operation, the girls returned to the NICU where they made a swift recovery.
“Both babies were extubated three days after surgery, giving their parents, Sandy and Jesse, the opportunity to hold their daughters separately for the first time in their lives.
“Ella and Eliza continued to make excellent progress toward healing, growing and returning home just four weeks after separation.
“The family is thrilled to begin this new chapter of their lives with all three of their daughters.”
