Conjoined twins successfully separated at US hospital

Two brothers have celebrated their first birthday after the conjoined twins were successfully separated from each other in a recent surgery.

Amari and Javar Ruffin, whose family lives in Philadelphia in the United States, were born via caesarean section in September 2023.

The brothers, who shared part of their sternum, diaphragm, abdominal wall and liver, weighed a combined 6 pounds (2.7 kg).

A surgical team at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia with more than two dozen specialists, including surgeons, anesthesiologists, radiologists, nurses, and many others, operated for eight hours to separate the boys on August 21, 2024.

Their abdomens were closed and rebuilt using layers of mesh and plastic surgery techniques.

“Separating conjoined twins always presents challenges because each set of twins is different,” Holly Hedrick, a paediatric general and foetal surgeon at the children’s hospital, said in a statement.

“We spend hours rehearsing the flow of surgery prior to the big day – even practising how to transfer each baby to their own bed”.

The boys went home on Tuesday after a year in the hospital to be with their parents, Tim and Shaneka, and their siblings, Kaylum and Anora, the hospital said.

“Seeing them each in their own beds was an indescribable feeling,” Shaneka Ruffin said.

“It feels like we are beginning a new journey as a family of six. We are so grateful to [the children’s hospital] for helping make this day possible and letting us start this next chapter”.

The Ruffins learned the twins were conjoined through a routine ultrasound 12 weeks into the pregnancy.

Shaneka Ruffin said it was recommended to her that she terminate her pregnancy. They got a second opinion, and the hospital told them that though the boys had a rare condition, they could be separated successfully.

Conjoined twins occur roughly once in every 35,000-80,000 births. The hospital is one of only a few in the US with expertise in separating them.