Mom: 'My dream's come true'

2004-08-09 19:54

New York - United States surgeons marvelled on Monday at the progress of two-year-old Filipino twins, four days after their conjoined heads were separated in a groundbreaking procedure.

"They've had absolutely no fevers in the past four days, so thus far everything that we've seen is very, very encouraging," said David Staffenberg co-leader of the medical team that worked on the twins at New York's Montefiore Medical Centre.

"The fact that they've not had to go back to the operating room, is a very unique situation historically," Staffenberg said.

Carl and Clarence Aguirre were finally separated in a 17-hour operation that ended in the early hours of Thursday morning.

It was the fourth in a series of operations that began in October.

Major surgeries lie ahead

"Taking them through the staged procedure... has made all the difference in the world," said pediatric neurosurgeon James Goodrich. "I was absolutely astonished not to see any of the problems we had expected - like swelling of the brain."

Several major surgeries still lie ahead for the twins, including the construction of separate skull sections to protect the brains.

The operation was requested by the boys' mother, Arlene, a registered nurse who expressed her desire to have them separated so they will have an opportunity to lead independent lives.

"I knew that this is a real risk operation, and I knew that I might lose one of them, but it never stopped me doing it," she told reporters on Monday.

"I had to take the chance that they could be separated, and that's it, my dream's come true."

Aguirre said emotions had run high when the doctors finally came to her with the news that her sons were no longer joined together.

"I told them I am the mother of two separate boys and I was very proud of it. They were very happy. They were laughing, crying," she said, adding that she had no immediate plans for the future.

"All I want to do is to be sure that my two boys are really in good condition for everything," she said.

Doctors said the twins were expected to remain in intensive care for weeks, and would be monitored around the clock for any signs of infection or possible brain damage.

Conjoined twins occur in approximately one in every 200 000 live births. Twins joined at the head are extremely rare - representing roughly one in 10 million live births. - AFP

- SAPA