When James Finley and Amanda Arciniega learned they were having twins, they were surprised. They later learned, however, that their girls were joined at the hip.
“On the ride home, we were quiet. And you know, it was kind of sad,” Arciniega said. “And we were thinking, why us?”
On October 3, AmieLynn Rose and JamieLynn Rae Finley, identical twins, were born at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital. They were conjoined at the abdomen and shared a liver as omphalopagus twins.
To make sure their birth was safe, their parents Finley and Arciniega collaborated with a group of specialists at Cook Children’s Medical Center before they were born. Plans were also developed by the team and the parents for how to separate them after they were born.
Over 50 doctors, anesthesiologists and nurses have so far helped separate the babies after an 11-hour surgery, ABC7 News reported. Their separation comes three months after their birth. The babies are doing well, doctors at Cook Children’s Medical Center said. The separation is a surgical first for the Fort Worth, Texas, pediatric hospital.
“This is a historic, amazing day,” Wini King, senior vice president and chief of communications, diversity, equity and inclusion for the Cook Children’s Health Care System, said on Wednesday.
“We are very happy with their progress at this point,” Dr. José Iglesias, the lead surgeon on the case, said. “We are focusing on their healing. They obviously have risks for several things but we’re keeping an eye on those.”
The incidence of conjoined twins is one per 50,000 to 200,000 births, according to NIH. Typically, 25% of live births live long enough to be separated, the NIH added.
